Destined to win a beauty pageant

Aishwarya Sushmita — yes, that’s her real name — has just been crowned the winner of Kingfisher Supermodels 3 (NDTV Goodtimes). Sharing the history behind her naming, she says, “I was born in the year 1994, when Aishwarya Rai and Sushmita Sen won their respective titles. My parents were mesmerised by their beauty and named me after them. They say aapke naam ka asar aap pe hota hai. So maybe that’s why I too have won a beauty pageant.”

Aishwarya Sushmita adds that modelling wasn’t a planned move for her. “I was busy pursuing a degree in philosophy. I have always been attracted to the field of fashion though and then suddenly this opportunity came my way. Now that I’ve got into it, I realise I enjoy modelling too,” she says.

Originally from Bihar, this model is admittedly a sports freak too. “I come from the Darbhanga district in Bihar. I was born and brought up there and later I moved to Delhi to do my graduation. I have been a state level badminton player and an inter-university boxing champ. I also enjoy playing basketball. And my other hobbies include belly dancing and singing.” Phew! That’s quite a list.

PSST!
The otherwise formal Ranaji aka Siddhant Karnick from Ek Tha Raja Ek Thi Rani recently shot a dance sequence with Drashti Dhami. We hear Siddhant got a bit over excited while filming for the same. A l’il birdie from the sets reveals, “Siddhant had to dance while playing the dhol. He got so excited that the strap of the dhol that was around his neck broke and it came crashing down, due to which the shoot had to be halted till things were restored.”