Priya Paramita Paul opens up on winning the case against beauty pageant company

Priya Paramita Paul: life coach Ms World International Priya Paramita Paul had filed a case against a beauty pageant company called She is India, two years back. Priya, who has won the case now, says that it was a very difficult time of her life.

“Recently, I won a case against the organisation that sends delegates to Mrs Universe. The organization's name is 'She is India'. This organisation conducts a beauty pageant and the winner gets to represent India as Mrs. India Universe. I had been fighting a case against them for the past two years, since 2021. After two years of moving back-and-forth, I won the case. I was not allowed to hire a personal coach and they had tried to push me to get personal coaching done from their organization. They had promised me that I would be one of the top three winners, if I got coaching from them, and get extra points. By the time I realised what this meant, I had already paid part of the payment of the pageant fee.

There was a lot of mental harassment that I had been through during that time because they started pushing things on me. That was a time where I really wanted to represent India and I had moved from Bangalore to Mumbai to get better training. I had the best coach, but with all these I chose to move out of the competition. I asked them for a refund because I was not competing anymore as for Mrs India Universe. That case went on for two years and finally they couldn't prove that my allegations were wrong and the court has asked them to send me the refund in the next 45 days,” she says.

She adds, “I am Ms World International right now. However, when this case began, I didn't have any title. I found that this is an organization where I can get help in competing for Mrs. Universe. It was a very tough decision for me to give up at that time because representing India had been a dream for me. Right now, I am happy that I made this choice.”

Many beauty pageants are rigged, says Priya, adding, “I would say it is a 50-50 percent chance. Fifty percent of the pageants are real and genuine. There are a couple of them which are very known and reputed and yet they are rigged. This is one of the experiences which I didn't even imagine that I would experience. I understand that so many people have a dream to win these pageants and they want to do something on stage where their voices are heard. But please do enough research before you go for a pageant and try to make sure that you know you enjoy this journey rather than getting such experience.”

There is no guarantee that beauty pageant winners get quick acting breaks, says Priya, adding, “If it was 10 years back when it was the time of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Sushmita Sen and Lara Dutta, I think that time, the chances were more. But right now, everything has changed. The way things are done in the pageant industry and in the entertainment industry, are very different and this is something which I realised when I got into pageantry. I know many people or many of my sister queens and many candidates who participate to get a chance in the entertainment industry. But the fact is that the entertainment industry not only demands you to be beautiful, they also demand a basic skill of acting. And if you don't build up that acting skill, it doesn't work. My request is that if you really want to get into the entertainment industry and have to go through a pageant, please participate in a pageant and also build a skill of acting and that's when this will work. Our world has changed, all the industries have changed and competition has increased. On the flipside, from the casting perspective,

I have seen and faced many casting directors. As soon as I say I have been in a beauty pageant, they won’t give me an equal opportunity to act, as they would give others. There are very few casting directors who have given me a chance for an audition. I have seen big well known directors who interact with all Miss India and Ms World and roam with them in events to show their standards that they are with beautiful girls. I have been to those events with them and I felt like a showpiece or a doormat which they are using.

Priya advises, "In the name of opportunity, don't become someone’s showpiece because you have struggled a lot to reach so far. It's a very frustrating process, again if any of the candidates or pageant girls want to get into acting then learn the basics of acting. Stay healthy, stay beautiful, stay safe and make sure that you don't become a showpiece of some. Be smart, do your proper research and try to take care of yourself.”