Back in 2008, when she was a student, actor Taapsee Pannu tried her hand at beauty pageantry. In a recent interview with The Lallantop, Pannu spilled the beans about all that she faced during those days.

“Sach mat poocho. Jhooth main bol nahin sakti, aur sach shayad main bata naa paaun,” she shares.

Recalling the “grooming period”, the actor shares, “I realized during the grooming period that this wasn’t something I could do. They’d make us walk, they taught us how to smile. Hemant Trivedi used to be the expert at the time, and he humiliated me. He said, ‘If it was in my hand, you would have never been in the top 28’.”

The Dobaaraa (2022) actor also mentions that she felt like she was “walking on thin ice”, because of favouritism. “They were making people sign contracts that strictly stipulated that contestants would have to give 30% of all their earnings for three years to the pageant. When it was over, we went for an after-party, the national director was there, and he wished me good luck for the future very courteously. I don’t know what took over me, but I told him, ‘Sir, take it from me in writing, you’re not getting the crown back’.”