Miss World 2017 Manushi Chhillar says will use her fame to address issue of menstrual hygiene
From the ramp to the big screen has been a natural graduation for most Indian beauty queens - be it Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (Miss World 1994) or Lara Dutta (Miss Universe 2000). However, Miss World 2017 Manushi Chhillar, who brought the crown home after 17 years since Priyanka Chopra's win in 2000, says a career in films doesn't interest her - at least, for the time being. "Bollywood is not on my mind right now. My focus for the next one year is to spread awareness about menstrual hygiene; I will be travelling to four continents for the cause and will be joined by six continental queens [selected from the pageant]," she says.
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Manushi Chhillar
A medical student at the Bhagat Phool Singh Medical College, the 20-year-old shares that her fellow contestants at the pageant assumed that she was an actor. "They initially thought I'm a product of Bollywood," she smiles, adding that she bonded with them over food. "Sensing that it would be difficult to get vegetarian food in China, my mother had packed a lot of eatables for me. So whenever the girls were hungry, they would come into my room. The best part was that we wouldn't understand each other's language, but we all were encouraging each other."
Chhillar, who got a hero's welcome as she returned to India on Sunday, says she always hoped to "bring pride to the country." Talking about channelling her newfound fame to raise awareness around menstrual hygiene in India, she says, "Sanitary pads are a necessity for every woman, so they should be available at a low cost. Indian women must have access to safe and affordable menstrual hygiene management."
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