Q. Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Ans. I am Poornima Jayadevan from Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. I was born, brought up and completed my schooling in Bhopal itself. However, I am a Malayali and I belong to Kerala. I am a professionally trained Bharatnatyam dancer. My greatest achievements so far have been winning Miss MP 2021 and getting into the University of Delhi.
Q. How did you feel when you were crowned Miss MP 2021?
Ans. First I was feeling nostalgia because I had no idea that the competition would be so tough. Some people were better dressed and some communicated very well. But the most important factor in pageantry is the balance between your looks and communication skills. As far as the judges were concerned I could tell that there was no foul play. It changed my life and I am thankful to my parents, friends and everybody who supported me, it wouldn't have been possible without them. So initially I felt nostalgic, then emotional and then grateful.
Q. Have you always wanted to be a model growing up or is it something that you realized when you saw somebody or you saw a movie or something? Who would you say was your inspiration for modelling?
Ans. So, when I was in my 10th standard there was this modelling proposal from a known makeup artist. She organized a modelling event for me in Delhi at Pragati Maidan and it was my first proper modelling event. It was during this event I realized that this is something I want to explore. So I always wanted to discover this side of mine but I also had to study and dance. Everyone can't balance everything. When I got this opportunity I was confused as all these things were going on with my college and classes. Let me tell you when the pageant dates were announced I was shocked and clueless as the pageant dates were the same as that of my first examination. I called my friends and they told me it’s ok, it's OBE so no need to worry but even so it was hectic. My mom always told me if you want to achieve something, you work hard with grit and determination and there will be nothing that can stop you. So like my mom said I worked hard and made sure that I managed my time properly and everything I did worked. It taught me to push hard to achieve what I am aiming for. I would say that there are role models but I think for each one of us our one and only role model is our mom because she always wants the best for us. There cannot be any better role model for us than our moms. And obviously, there are people, there are celebrities like Aishwarya Rai and Sushmita Sen who inspire us. Sushmita Sen is my obsession I have seen millions of her videos. I am in love with the way she speaks and smiles. My reel role model is Sushmita Sen and my real role model is my mom.
Q. As you said your mom is your role model so you would say that both your parents have been very supportive of whatever you wanted to venture into?
Ans. Both my parents have been supportive of every decision. In the 11th standard, I was very confused as to which subjects I want to pursue. All my relatives and cousins were uncertain about which subjects I will choose and what career path I will seek. I thought about civil services. I have huge respect for this field because civil servants irrespective of all odds work hard to make our society a better place. So civil services always made a huge impact on me. I knew from grade 6th that this is something I want to be a part of. Therefore I knew that I will choose humanities for the last two years of my schooling. We all know that many, including some of my family, consider humanities is for low scoring students, even though in the past few years there have more than a few toppers from humanities. So breaking all the stereotypes and with the support of my parents, I chose humanities. To fulfil my dream I worked hard and made sure that I score around 90-92% so that I can get a good college. So yeah I am here. There are parents who believe in you, in the decision you make and then there are parents who don't believe in you and there they think you are a child and are incapable of making decisions. But so far my parents have been very supportive even if I make a decision they don't agree with, they let me make my decision. It is one of the many things I love about my parents and am very blessed to have them.
Q. You said that you are a trained dancer so from what age did you start learning?
Ans. To be very frank I started learning when I was in Kindergarten. I was only 4 years old but my mom had great enthusiasm to teach me every extracurricular activity that she could. At that time I had learned every art form but I chose to continue with dance because I am very passionate about and it brings me peace and happiness. Whenever I feel low or drained or when things don't work out I turn to dance. From the 3rd standard I started pursuing Bharatnatyam professionally wherein we had 6 exams, 2 were junior diploma, 2 were middle junior and one senior diploma which I completed recently in my 12th standard. After completion, we are honoured with the title "Sangeet Prabhakar.”
Q. Your college is in Delhi now so how will that impact your dancing life and your modelling and will the impact be good or it will slow you down or something like that what do you think?
Ans. This is a very great question. I was thinking about it since the lockdown because we aren't privileged enough to see even the gates of our college right now and the second semester has started. As I said earlier time management is the key so whenever I find it difficult to manage my time I call up my mom for some pep talk and she never fails to motivate me. I am actually confused about how I am going to manage everything as there is a lot of pressure regarding my career prospects. Although I always wanted to explore modelling and I now know that I can choose modelling as my career. However, I feel like I would love civil services more but that needs hard work. So you were right I have no clue as to how I am going to manage everything but I will try my level best to manage everything. If anything comes in my way that I am not able to manage then I'll call some of my good friends and talk to them and make sure that my mental health good. I have always told myself that is I would never refuse any opportunity to model or act. I know I need to work hard and I am determined to do so.
Q. Have you ever thought that you could have either of these interests as your career?
Ans. Yeah, I thought of pursuing dance as my career in early 11th standard because I was not a pro in academics. I was always indulged in extracurricular activities in my school times. I was famous for getting out of the class any time of the day. That's how easy it was for me to get out of the class as soon. As soon as I told any teacher that I have to go out for some program or something she would easily let me go. They all knew that I am a dancer. I was frequently missed classes and was an average and above-average student. So I thought this is the peak of my school time and this is not going to work if I want to get into Delhi University or any good University. I have to study and give proper time to studies as well. So obviously, I thought that if I failed to get into a good university I would choose a career in dance and go to Kerala but with God's grace, I am here.
Q. There is a certain social stigma that revolves around being a model. Did you have to face those as well and if you did then how did you overcome that?
Ans. This was my first thought before coming to the pageant. I questioned if I should compete for a pageant or not. I wondered what my relatives and others will say because obviously, all these social stigmas come from the people we already know. We think that they are our well-wisher but in reality, they just don't want to see us in that position. So obviously there were people who wished well for me even after the pageant and they congratulated me and there were a set of people questioning me especially my parents. They were like - Why did you let her go she is a small kid. My parents used to say that she is capable enough to do it at this age and you should always encourage such pageants. Again some people have these cringe thoughts in their mind that this would lead me to nowhere but, to be honest, as I said earlier this changed my life completely. People are not aware of the modelling industry, its scope and are generally very narrow-minded. Winning Miss MP changed my life and opened many roads for me.
Q. Apart from modelling and dancing what hobbies do you have?
Ans. I am quite good at singing but it is only bathroom singing so don't judge me. Also, I like listening to music. If I cannot dance, then music is my escape. I have a very unique taste in music. I listen to every kind of song. I don't have a preferred genre of music. I listen to Punjabi music, Malayalam music, Hindi music, English music and many more. I also like to read but the book has to be remarkable.
Q. What would you like to tell somebody who is aspiring to be in the dancing or the modelling field?
Ans. I would always advise people to be determined because whatever you want to achieve in life needs grit, determination, hard work, and positivity. If you feel like you can't achieve something or if things aren't going according to plans, it is during this time you have to work twice as hard and fight against all the odds. You are a fighter, a survivor. Whenever you face any obstacle you always have to remain focused, never give up, and stay motivated. Work hard until you achieve your dream, it will always lead you to better things in life.
I want to tell you about the stages of my Pageant.
During the audition, I was terrified. In the audition round, we were supposed to introduce ourselves and we’re supposed to walk a ramp. I don't know whether to say this or not but actually, my feet trembled hard not because I was conscious about getting up and speaking but because this was all new to me. 60 contestants, including me, of 100 qualified for the second round. There we had two grooming sessions. The first grooming session was about how to sit, how to speak, how to maintain healthy, hygiene and everything associated with it. The second grooming session was more about our ramp walks, stage practice etc. The second day was all about our photoshoots and we were all supposed to wear white dresses. On the final day, we had three rounds first round was the talent round, the second round was the innovative round and the third round was a question-answer round. In the talent round, I performed the dance scene, Krishna Lela. To make my performance more creative I dressed up in Krishna's costume. The second round was the innovative round. For this round, we had to make sure that we wore something innovative that was created by us and we had to give a message wearing that attire. I made a dress with crépe paper and I along with my family members made a beautiful headpiece. That round was a blast. The third round was the question-answer round and I was the last one to answer the question. There were people after me as well but I came last in the last segments only. So all the good questions like- Who is your role model?- were already done. I was nervous about what they might ask. My question was- If you have absolutely nothing and you wake up one day what are you going to do? I hadn't thought about a question like this in my entire life. I spontaneously said, “If I didn't have anything and I wake up one day I would try to inculcate a quality in me and using that quality I would make sure that I can do something and lead my life.” The judges were impressed with my answer.
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