Pankhuri Gidwani describes a particular adjustment in the move from beauty pageants to acting: learning when to let go of the polish. In her conversation on Famous TV’s Confessions, she credits pageantry with discipline, but says some of its lessons needed to be set aside when she began working as an actor.
Pageant contestants are expected to conduct themselves well in different settings, she explains. Being on their best behaviour can become mechanical. Acting, in her account, calls for a different balance, with more room for an authentic response.
What the stage taught her
Gidwani traces her interest in performance to childhood Kathak classes, school plays and other activities. She also recalls learning drums and performing with her school band. Performing arts were already part of her life before the pageant title.
She pushes back against the assumption that beauty contestants are not well read. She speaks about creative intelligence and, elsewhere in the conversation, describes reading and communication as important parts of her own background. Choosing a career in the arts, she argues, should not be mistaken for a lack of intellectual ability.
That background helps explain why she speaks about pageant training with appreciation even while describing the habits she had to shed. Discipline remained useful; acting required her to balance it with her own sense of authenticity.
After the reigning year
Asked whether winning a pageant or surviving as an actor had been harder, Gidwani chooses acting. She describes the end of a titleholder’s reigning year as the point when a different challenge begins.
Her account centres on competition and uncertainty. Many people want to act, including models and influencers, and opportunities can fluctuate. She describes periods when films, advertising and web projects appear plentiful, followed by quieter stretches when it is harder to know what is being cast.
There is a fashion-world connection in the conversation too. Discussing runway showstoppers, Gidwani makes room for actors, influencers and professional models. Her emphasis is on how they approach the assignment: respecting the show, the garment and the designer.
Across those subjects, she returns to the work behind the public appearance. Pageant preparation, acting and walking a runway each demand attention to a different task. Her transition into acting involved recognising which habits served that task and which needed to change.
Source: Famous TV’s original Confessions interview.