Mumbai, Sep 28 (IANS) Vartika Singh, a 28-year-old beauty queen from Lucknow, is all set to represent India at the prestigious Miss Universe 2019. She bagged the coveted crown of Miss Diva Universe 2019 this week, and is overwhelmed with the love she's getting.
"If you look at Miss Universe candidates in the past, they are somebody who can speak their mind, lead the path, be a unique personality on their own and have a strong vision," Vartika told IANS in an exclusive interview.
As she eyes the international crown, what's next for her is working on fitness - physical and mental, along with keeping her skin and diet in check.
Asked what she felt about the criticism beauty pageants garner for promoting a certain body type and beauty standards, Vartika upholds the events as 'celebrations of being a woman'.
"I feel like a beauty pageant is a celebration of being a woman, being nurturing, caring, confident, opinionated, and someone who can be a leader. Pageants have also change their parameters over time -- they've included transgender people, and some beauty queens haven't been the tallest or fittest."
Is she nervous to represent India at the world stage?
"A lot of people are supporting me, that's a good thing, but the more people think you are capable of bringing the crown back, the sense of responsibility increases. It creates a tiny bit of pressure, but I work better under pressure," Vartika, who has also come up with a healthcare NGO Pure Humans, said.
She has participated in Miss Diva 2014, and Femina Miss India 2015 and also represented India at Miss Grand International 2015, where she emerged as the second runner-up.
All set to become an icon in the glamour and fashion industry, Vartika says she will keep modelling and is not averse to acting in films, "if that happens".
The Miss Diva and Mr. India pageants, held in Mumbai on Thursday, also named Shefali Sood as Miss Diva Supranational 2019 and Varun Verma as Mr. India Supranational 2019.
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