| | | CROWNING GLORY: Shillpa A Singh with Akshay Kumar, Maureen Wadia and Chetan Hansraj at the Gladrags Mrs India contest on Saturday | The winner of the Gladrags Mrs India contest Shillpa A Singh's face may look familiar to telly viewers. Besides modelling, Shillpa has anchored as well as acted in several shows from 1996 to 2000 — till she got married to Aashish Singh, who works as an executive producer for Yashraj Films.
"I must have done over 100 ad campaigns," says the Juhu resident. As Shilpa Kataria — her maiden name — she was the face of Parachute hair oil and Cadbury's 5 Star.
"Modelling led me to acting. I have acted in serials like Aashiqui (Zee), Abhi To Main Jawan Hoon (SAB) and Urmila (DD1) in which I played the title role," says Shillpa who also hosted Star Plus's Bollywood's show Jubilee Plus.
I dreamt about winning
Post marriage, Shillpa decided to take a break. "I wanted to take it easy. I had a baby within a year of marriage. My daughter, Sunskriti, is now four years old." The decision to return to the glam world "was after a strange dream I saw last year," claims Shillpa. "I dreamt that I was winning the crown. This is what prompted me to apply for the contest. But I was late for the applications last year, so I had to wait to enter this year."
No cake on beti's b'day
The last couple of months Shillpa has spent grooming for the contest. "I did the works — gymming, dieting and meditation. All my efforts gave me the desired result — the Mrs India crown! In fact it was my daughter's birthday on December 4 and I did not have a piece of the cake as it- was too close to the contest finale on December 10."
She describes the Mrs India contest, "Tough. As there are so many applicants. You have to give your best shot at every round from the auditions, interviews, catwalk and there is even a swimsuit round."
Her clincher question in the finals was from telly actor Chetan Hansraj who was one of the judges. "He asked me 'how I would react if I saw my husband in bed with another woman'. My reply was 'I would slap him and never see him again because relationships are based on honesty, trust and loyalty'." | FAMILY PORTRAIT:
Shillpa A Singh with husband Aashish and daughter Sunskriti | The numerology game
The new Mrs India now looks forward to acting and modelling once again and is full of admiration for the Bombay Dyeing lady. "Maureen Wadia (organiser of Mrs India) is a wonderful being; she has groomed and helped me discover a new self."
Shillpa, as the spelling of her name suggests, is also into numerology. "I changed the spelling myself," she says. She's also into tarot card reading and classical singing. My chanting of Buddhist hymns provides immense peace."
Incidentally, Shillpa's father-in-law, K P Singh, is a film producer whose movies include the recent Vikram Bhatt directed Jurm besides Hum To Mohabbat Karega, Pather Aur Payal and Warrant. "My family has been a great support for me," she says.
Shillpa's celebrations, however, after winning the crown are on hold for the moment. "Immediately after the event, my husband Aashish left for Rio de Janeiro for a location hunt for Dhoom 2. He will be back after 10 days," she says. So, it's party time later for Shillpa.
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