Tiaras to tinsel town

From winning several Indian and international beauty pageant titles to signing her first Bollywood film, Ipsita Pati has come a long way indeed. The Odisha native considers herself to be an Andhra girl, as she was born and brought up in Visakhapatnam. “I did my schooling there and now I’m doing my integrated MBA from AU,” she says

How did it all start? “My mother was the one who encouraged me,” she says.

Ipsita was just 16 when she started walking the ramp. “I was crowned Miss South India and that’s when I decided that I would compete internationally. I rejected film offers to prepare for the global platform,” she says.

She went on to win the title of Indian Princess in Thailand, Miss Inter­continental in Spain, Miss International in Mexico and, recently, Miss Asia in London.

“I consider these as crowns of responsibility and dedication. I’ve been to remote areas to meet families of soldiers of the Indian Army,” Ipsita says.

After so many titles, the next step had to be films. And, even before the release of her debut film, she has signed two more.

“When I returned after winning the Miss Asia Title, director Rajiv S. Ruia called and asked if I was interested in acting in his next film. I thought it was a prank, but when we met and he narrated the script, I believed him,” she recounts.

“The movie is titled 'Chor Bazaari' and I am cast opposite debutant Ankit Narayan. I play an arrogant girl who is the daughter of the Delhi commissioner, and Ankit plays a thief. It’s a romantic comedy,” she says about the film.