Actor and former Miss World Manushi Chhillar may be only a few films old, but she’s already experimented with both glamorous and non-glamorous roles. Ask her if she’s had to fight stereotypes while transitioning into films, and she’s clear: she doesn’t waste energy trying to prove people wrong.

“If someone has a preconceived notion about where you fit, instead of focusing on breaking it, I believe in doing my job the best I can and chasing the work I want. Everything else falls into place,” says Manushi, last seen in Maalik opposite Rajkummar Rao.

On whether she had to reinvent herself for Bollywood, she adds, “Not really. I was a girl doing her job as Miss World, and now I’m a girl doing my job as an actor. I dress according to my work — it’s that simple.”

The 2017 Miss World winner also rejects the idea that pageantry is only about glitz. “People think beauty pageants are all glamour. I don’t agree. That one night in 365 days when a girl is crowned is what you see. But the rest of the year, you’re working — often in remote parts of the world. I worked with a charity called Beauty With A Purpose, and that was far from glamorous,” she says.

With her career taking shape, Manushi joins a league of beauty queens like Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, and Sushmita Sen who’ve made successful forays into films — but on her own terms.