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1. Tell us about your background and journey.
Born in an Army family, I have traveled within India quite a lot. Then did engineering, joined an MNC and somehow decided to come to the US. Nothing was planned. I did my masters from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles but that was not the end but instead, the beginning to explore more.
Starting as a radio jockey in LA, leading to making movies to performing standup comedy shows all over the US to winning beauty pageants. Things take time but one must keep doing it irrespective.
I am still working with one of the top entertainment firms, enjoy my engineer hat but hey! no one is going to stop my creative side!
2. Did you always dream about entering a beauty pageant and were you confident about winning?
Not at all. I was that tom-boy who would only wear sneakers. I could never walk in heels, so dancing in them was out of the question. I have been a joke during rehearsals wobbling in my heels and falling on my face. But then like anything else practice can get you there.
I learned how to dance in them! Moreover, standup comedy had taught me stage presence, spontaneity, and added confidence. I won the title of Miss Exuberant Spirit 2019 at Ms. Reshma Beauty USA pageant held in Beverly Hills, CA.
Then within a few months, I won Miss India USA National 2019 in North Carolina. I think confidence is built with experiences (both good and bad) when your rigorous preparation meets an opportunity.
3. How and when did you realize your passion for creating films?
In 2012, I started volunteering for several film festivals including the Indian Film Festival Los Angeles (IFFLA) because I wanted to learn more about independent film making.
Rather than joining a film school, I think being part of the festivals lets you learn from filmmakers’ stories, their challenges, and doing the real groundwork with hands-on experience. I would do this in my spare time, weekends, and even days when I would take-off from my regular job to just be part of a film.
When you go over and beyond, you know you love it too much! There is a madness to it. I ended up directing my own movie, which eventually got selected by five U.S film festivals and screened at AMC theater in Fort Lauderdale, FL.
4. Which film(s) do you appreciate the most for their cinematography?
I love movies like Tamasha. I feel it captures the beauty of life because it’s never straightforward, has several layers. It’s a well written, well-performed, and touches both psychological & emotional areas of life.
5. People, who are interested in taking up stand-up comedy as a profession, do they need a funny bone or they can develop one?
It’s a mix of both. You need to have a sense of humor in order to create jokes or see the humor in situations.
However, standup jokes have a structure – like the rule of three, premise & punchline, develop a persona, mic and stand use, story-telling, building your own material.
All of this can be learned by a comedy coach or an experienced comedian or a comedy school. I still go back to Jeff Hodge who has been my coach.
6. What would be your advice to all aspiring models, artists, and pageant aspirants?
Just do it. And when you do, give your crazy 200% into it. Remove the word trying, aspiring, new-bee, inexperienced, etc. from your dictionary. Either you are in or you are out. If you succeed, it’s not over as there is more to go. If you fail, it’s not over, you learn & improve.
7. What is your idea of success or your mantra in life?
Try new things in order to always challenge yourself because you are more powerful than you think you are. I am a strong believer in creating tangible goals along with good time management. During this entire process, you build strong relationships and human connections.
Stop thinking or over-thinking and just do it. The definition of success has been evolving for me from financial freedom to excelling in new arenas to spiritually growing.
- Mansi Mehra
- Interviewed By: Anurag Jaiswal
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