She gave her family a surprise by coming to Delhi a day in advance, and only told her dad at the last minute. "I had to watch the telecast of PFMI with my family and nobody else," she said.
She relived the moment with her relatives and friends while watching the pageant, and this time, crowned herself as Nicole Faria crowned her on TV!
After the excitement and jubilation had abated a bit, she went to the Golden Temple in Amritsar with her parents, and that was followed by a party in Delhi Cantt, where we clicked these pics. As soon as her school's principal, Meeta Rai, came to the party, she gushed, "Arre, look at her – Miss India! Chhoti si gudiya thi jab mere paas aayi thi."
Her friends from Jesus and Mary College, Delhi, Shefali and Lisa, told us, "We were a gang of seven girls and called ourselves the seven sins. You know, Hasleen is very good at arguing with people, especially when she knows she is right. And another thing – she is hardly ever not right!"
Sanya Ahuja
After I won a school pageant, i wanted a bigger crown.
Rayman Gill
After PFMI Earth 2011 Hasleen Kaur had ensured that she watched the telecast of her pageant win with her folks, we caught up with her in Delhi recently. How did she feel when the coveted tiara graced her head? With refreshing honesty, she says, "Truthfully, I wasn't that surprised. I had an inkling because all through the grooming period, the industry seniors conducting the sessions responded to me quite favourably."
Talking about the evolution of her glamour dream, she says, "The desire to be a model has been there for a while. It started when I was in Class V, and I won the Miss DPS contest. I wore a crown made of cardboard and paper, but I decided that I wanted a bigger and better crown! In my teens, I participated in the May Queen beauty pageant, and I won that too. After that, modelling assignments began pouring in."
Hasleen has ensured that her academics did not suffer. "I come from a defence background, so such thinking is a part of who I am. I did my undergraduate studies at JMC, and then I did my post-graduation from IIMC," she says. "Then, I was signed on by a modelling agency, and started walking the ramp, participating in the fashion weeks (both Wills and Lakme). The ambition to get better grew strong, and I wanted more and more people to know me. That is why I participated in the Miss India pageant."
At the moment, Hasleen is half-blessed and half-vexed, for she knows that in just a few months, she will be representing India at the Miss Earth contest. "I need to be able to speak for India out there. I feel like I am about to give a very important exam, so I need to be well prepared," she says nervously. We're sure you'll ace this one, Hasleen!
Hasleen's father
Col Sarabhjit Singh, Hasleen's father, sang Kishore Kumar's "Aa Chal Ke Tujhe, Main Leke Chalun" while hugging his daughter at the do. "She always wanted to be a model," said the proud dad.
Hasleen's Mother
Says her mother, Ikwinder Kaur, "I think this title (PFMI Earth) best suits her. She's so grounded: does her paath regularly, talks to us in Punjabi and takes care of her grandmother... Hasleen knows that this profession is short-lived. Hence, the advertising and PR course from IIMC. Yes, she's interested in Bollywood; she's always been a drama queen. Didn't you notice her in "Love Aaj Kal"? She did a small cameo in the movie, as Giselle Monteiro's friend."
Hasleen's Brother
Hasleen's brother Harsimran Singh says, "Whenever she had to party till late, I covered up for her. This get-together was a very family thing, but I've planned a brother-sister celebration too – I'm going to take her to her favourite coffee shop, the CCD in front of the Taj, and after that, we'll party with our friends."