Symbiosis Law School alumna, Pragya Jaiswal will be receiving ‘Symbiosis Sanskritik Puraskar’ on January 22 for her achievement in the field of art and culture. Rajlaxmi Arora catches up with the talented youngster

Brought up in Jabalpur, this small-town girl comes from a family of educationists and rightly so, she was good at academics since her school days. Like any teenager, Pragya had big dreams and joined Symbiosis Law School, where she further started exploring her skills and talents. From dancing to acting to college fests, she took part in various activities. In 2007, Pragya took part in Citadel’s Miss Pune competition, and emerged as a runner-up.

“Being a law student, I had to study a lot but with the support of my friends, I managed to take part in ‘Dabur Vatika Miss Crowning Glory’ contest and won it. This competition gave me a chance to appear on a magazine cover and also got me a wild card entry into the Miss India pageant,” says Pragya.

Even though she did not win the Miss India title, she was bestowed with various other titles like Ms Fresh Face, Dancing Queen and it also gave her an opportunity to work in mainstream fashion and cinema.

But studies did not take a backseat. “As I come from a very strict family, I had to complete my law course and I graduated with flying colours. I also ended up getting a job as a lawyer in Mumbai, but I declined the offer. However, I met a lot of industry people from advertising and film, and I managed to bag some projects,” she adds.

Pragya started her career as a ramp model and did various fashion shows. Her cute face caught the audience’s fancy. TV commercials and a few acting projects got her into the limelight. “I zeroed in on taking up acting as a career and joined Gary Jones Acting Institute and also took up various acting workshops with Neeraj Kabi,” shares she.

Ask her how she feels about being a part of the fashion industry and Pragya says, “It is wonderful and a lot of fun. I agree there is a lot of competition but people here are very kind towards each other, and if something goes wrong, it is only at a personal level.”

Like a fashion model, an actor’s career is shortlived and Pragya is well aware of the challenges of a career she has chosen to pursue. “You cannot be young and beautiful all your life, but as long as you can deliver and maintain your consistency, you will survive,” says the level-headed youngster.

A receptive and open person, Pragya likes to be in a position where she can learn more and grow as an actress. Her future projects include an international film based on the novel A Little Heaven in Me which is woman-centric and tells a realistic story. She will start shooting for the film in March. She has also acted in a few Tamil and Telugu films which will be releasing soon.

As she has chosen a woman-centric film, we can’t help but ask Pragya to share her views on the current political scenario in the country and how Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is fighting for women’s rights. To which she replies, “Well, initially, I was quite excited about AAP and thought it was quite revolutionary. We can expect some changes in the future. But for now, we should give more time to it to grow as a party.”