Aishwarya Sushmita, a young girl from the Darbhanga district in Bihar recently won the title of “Kingfisher Supermodels 3” aired on the entertainment channel NDTV Good Times recently. She has now won the title of “Kingfisher Calendar Girl 2016”. Very often she is asked about her unusual name, to which she answers that both Aishwarya and Sushmita, the beauty queens, won their respective pageants in the year 1994 — the same year when she was born. Her parents were so inspired by the two celebrity beauty queens that they decided to name their daughter after both of them, failing to establish which one was better than the other.
Aishwarya describes herself as something of a girl-next-door who never thought of becoming a model. Being a small-town girl, she had no idea about modelling when she arrived in Delhi to pursue a graduation course in philosophy from Delhi University.
During her master’s, Femina Miss India, 2015-Campus Princess happened to her almost by accident. After her parents’ encouragement and motivation, she finally decided to participate in the pageant and made it among the top six contestants. The winner of this was to be taken to Mumbai for a training program further. “After this show, I felt happy and was on the top of the world as my parents were extremely excited about all this,” says Aishwarya.
Between all this, she also worked for an agency trying to learn the nuances of modelling. Then in the midst of all these affairs, she made her way to Kingfisher Supermodels 3, where she finally won the title after 10 weeks of hardship and intense competition. Aishwarya recalls, “Earlier, it was tough for me to face camera and posing in front of many crew members but eventually camera became one of my best friends during the competition.” She also says that it was not easy for her as she never thought of becoming a model, and all the credit goes to her parents who convinced and supported her.
Aishwarya says that she often fel tlike she was being looked down upon in the city because of her lineage. “I remember that as soon as I say that I am from Bihar, people are astonished and surprised that anyone coming from Bihar would do something like this. Modelling is still considered something which is not acceptable in the society and if you are coming from a place like Bihar people would judge you on your accent, dress and on your whole personality.”
“I was apprehensive that though my parents are supportive, my modelling career would be unacceptable to my relatives. But to my surprise, I was whole-heartedly welcomed by my uncle’s family.”
But sometimes too much judgement either weakens you or else it becomes your biggest strength. For Aishwarya, it is her inner strength that helps her to overcome all her difficulties. “I was immensely pampered child and I am still the one. I did my high school from Vanasthali, Jaipur and moved to Delhi afterwards. Since I started travelling from a very young age, I am used to being around different kind of people and I hardly get affect now.
“People would judge you but it is you who has to keep your head high. I was apprehensive that though my parents are supportive, it would be unacceptable to my relatives. But to my surprise, I was whole-heartedly welcomed by my uncle’s family and cousins which gives me immense happiness.”
What now about her career in modelling? “It accidently happened to me but it will be planned now for future endeavours. For me, it is the only thing that I want to do now. Earlier, I wanted to be a civil servant, but now it is only the camera that attracts me.’ Speaking about fashion, Aishwarya says, ‘I am more a kind of an experimenting personality. Fashion cannot be defined. It is more about being comfortable whatever you wear. Even If I am wearing a swim suit, I want to present it aesthetically. Nothing is vulgar and improper, you need to present it right in a graceful manner.”
Lastly, talking about her upcoming plans she says, “Since, I am not much of a planner, I always go in a flow. I am a spiritual person and thank God for all these accomplishments.”
Any messages for budding models? “I am very new to this field. So, I cannot suggest much about it but one thing which I will definitely advice to young girls like me, is that everybody has a talent and spark. You just need to discover your strength and most important if your parents are there for you, forget the whole world and start your journey holding their blessing with you. You will emerge as a winner.”