The winner takes it all

The search for the face of Hyderabad has come to an end. Emerging as a worthy winner, Panchami Rao Nagarajan from NIFT took the crown home. She opens up about her experience here, her dreams for the future and more.

Did you always want to get into modeling?

It was my tryst with design that got me interested in modeling. I was overwhelmed when I got through NIFT, which has always been my dream. It was around that time that I shot up in height and I had all my relatives and friends bugging me to try it. I started checking out pictures of models and modeled at the events organised at college. Now, I want to establish myself as a top-notch model and make myself known at the international level too. I plan to focus on modeling and studies for now, I will think about movies later and.

Were you nervous on the night?

Yes, at the beginning I was. We had worked so hard and rehearsed a lot for that night.

I was more nervous for others than myself. All of us are young and it was for the first time that each of us was on such a platform. But after the first round went well where we had to sashay down the ramp in sarees, I was confident that

we will get through the evening without making many mistakes. As the second round began, I became more confident and was in control of the situation.

Why do you think you won the competition? How well do you think others in the competition performed?

I think I was the most balanced among all of them. I was confident about myself and knew my shortcomings and places where I need to work on. And moreover, I was in a place where I believed that it would happen to me. I was ready to accept the situation and this helped me cope with the stress and perform better at the competition. Everyone was competitive and wanted to get to the top. There were many whom I felt were competition for me.

You didn’t receive any of the sub contest prizes. How did you feel when you didn’t hear your name being called out for any of them?

I was expecting a few titles and when I didn’t get any, I was a little disappointed. Those moments were tough, so many qu­estions were going through my mind like if I would make it to the top ten or not. And after my name was called out for the top ten, I focused all my energy on winning the competition.

How supportive were your parents of your decision to compete?

I told them after I applied for the competition and they were supportive of my decision from the very start. I didn’t want to miss classes and assignments at college so I was managing both the training and classes simultaneously. I think I could crack the question-and-answer round solely because of my mother’s help. Each day since the training began, I had a session with my mother in the evening when she would ask me five questions. I had to place myself mentally on stage and answer these questions properly. This helped me a lot while facing the judges on the stage for real.

What was your friends’ reaction when they heard that you won the crown? Who all turned up to cheer for you?

When I told my friends that I have been shortlisted and that I will be participating, they asked me not to come back without winning it. Now since the win, my phone hasn’t stopped ringing, they have been asking me to throw a party for them. They were sad because they couldn’t come for the event since most of them are out of station for dussehra holidays. My entire family was at the event. I was particularly moved when my grandfather came.

How was the training procedure like?

I feel like I have become a completely different person with the amount of training I received. We had sessions with a dermatologist, dietitian, hair stylist, cat walk specialists among many others. Also, the ramp walk and choreography sessions by Shakir Shaikh were the most helpful for us. Since all of us were new to catwalk, he helped us from the scratch on how to build our own style on stage. Apart from these, we had to attend the gym every single day without fail. Fitness was given the foremost priority at the training. The things that I learnt here will stay with me forever. Luckily for me, the training that I received was enough for winning the crown. But I am all set to work extra hard for South Indian beauty pageant that I will be taking part in. I want to push myself to the limit for that.

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