Sejal Gupta was recently the youngest Indian teen to win Miss Teen International India 2023. The Thirteen-year-old has also worked with Akshay Kumar in Mission Mangal. In an exclusive interview, the child actor shares her pageant experience, Bollywood dreams and more.
Thirteen-year-old, Sejal Gupta proves that ‘age is no barrier to success’. Crowned as Miss Teen International at the Miss Teen Diva Pageant, this young girl will soon represent India at the world’s biggest teen pageant ‘Miss Teen International 2024’ in the Philippines. Sejal has just been promoted to standard 9th for the academic year 2023-24, but her school walls can’t contain the magnanimity of her dreams and ambitions.
JOURNEY TO BECOMING THE ‘MISS TEEN DIVA PAGEANT
The actor made her television debut at the age of eight with ‘Kya Haal Mr. Panchal’ and played the younger Kirti Kulhari in ‘Mission Mangal‘. Sejal believes this year is truly noteworthy and enrolling in a beauty pageant was the best decision of her life. Speaking to india.com in an interview, she said, ”The whole journey has taught me a lot in life. I believe, if I hadn’t enrolled myself in the pageant, I wouldn’t have shaped myself into a disciplined girl who has learned a lot from her mistakes.”
Sejal reveals how her parents are the biggest support system: ”It was my mother’s dream that she wanted to become Miss World but she couldn’t because her family didn’t support her. She supported me throughout. My parents don’t care about society and have full faith in me, and they support me in every scenario.”
Amid winning beauty pageants and bagging new projects, Sejal has seen people’s behaviour and attention towards her changing with time. She says, ”I used to get treated as a celebrity in school.” She also had a few people who pull her down and the actor remembers each comment that was thrown in her way to hinder her growth. She says, “There are two sides to every coin, not everyone appreciates you. Sometimes, people become judgmental and are too quick to call your decisions and choices wrong in life. There were people who pulled me down, but I didn’t let them enter my head. I believe age is just a number and I didn’t let anyone put my morale and courage down.”
SEJAL’S BOLLYWOOD DREAMS
Apart from school, Sejal has several hobbies that she likes to engage in: ”I like to dance, act and communicate with people, whenever I am free. I like to chit-chat, dance, and mimic people too.” Her experience of playing younger Kirti Kulhari in ‘Mission Mangal’ was quite a challenging situation for her. She explains how Akshay Kumar made it all easier for her during the shoot: ”He is too sweet to work and was very supportive. I thought he might get irritated, but he was very encouraging, chilled, and fun to be with.”
This child model-actor also has big dreams as well as a passion for acting. Sejal’s inspiration is Priyanka Chopra: ”Since the very start, my role model has been Priyanka Chopra, not just for acting but also because of her Miss World journey. I really admire her and wish to follow in her footsteps ahead.”
Sejal Gupta will soon be seen in ‘Peshawar’ and ‘Kun Faya Kun’ with Harshvardhan Rane and Sanjeeda Shaikh, ‘Sukhee’ with Shilpa Shetty Kundra, and ‘Jo Tera Hai Wo Mera Hai’ with Amit Sial, Sonali Kulkarni and Paresh Rawal.
