Naïve, Not Vulnerable

Model and beauty queen Lopamudra Raut is equal parts sweet and sassy.The Miss United Continents 2016 second runner-up talks about life after the pageant, surviving the Bigg Boss house, and her Bollywood aspirations.

- Nikita Sawant

The first thing you notice about Lopamudra Raut is her sheer confidence in front of the camera. She may just have started out as a model, but her on-camera persona suggests otherwise. The beauty queen sits down for a chat after an energetic shoot, and while you can see the exhaustion on her face, her voice rings out strong and loud. Even when people start packing up to go home, she makes no effort to speed up the interview, getting comfy on the chair instead. Okay then, I think. The girl is sweet, sassy and committed. Her responses are calm and candid, and she speaks her mind quite generously. Our final verdict: Raut has got both the swagger and the smarts to make her way on her own. Edited excerpts from our chat.

How did the switch from electrical engineering to modelling come about?