Suman Rao represented India at Miss World 2019 at on 14th December 2019 at the ExCeL London in London, United Kingdom. She was adjudged as the second runner-up at the event finale along with bagging the award for Miss World Asia 2019.
Recently, Miss World India 2019 Suman Ratan Rao celebrated her one-year crown anniversary and explained that beauty pageant has helped her to gain her confidence and empowered her in a way that she is able to use her voice to voice out for things needed to be heard. The diva will soon be crowning her successor in Mumbai who will represent India at Miss World 2020 stage.
Suman who is quarantining with her family mentioned that the forced break has helped her to unwind things in her life and helped her to rejuvenate herself. Even though the outbreak of pandemic in the country and the lockdown imposed by the government has forced Suman to cut her duties short until she hands over the crown to the next potential winner, Suman has no regrets and feels immensely grateful for the opportunities she has received till now which included her first trip overseas, to London, a city she had only ever visited through Indian films.
Before Suman was crowned Miss World India 2019, she was a different individual as she was pursuing chartered accountancy, who, sometimes, allowed herself to dream of a career on the silver screen. “Since I was a little girl, I’d watch videos of Indian film songs on TV and copy the steps. I would love to work in Bollywood, and I feel this platform has set me on the right path,” the diva explained. Miss World Asia 2019, stated that her family is somewhat orthodox and while she was in school, she was an average student which never gave her the understanding on how should she present herself. But during her preparations for the Miss World pageant, the trainers worked hard along with Suman and for that she is thankful to them. She still wonders what judges saw in her and believes that wherever she is today is the result of the people who worked hard for her.
Remembering her journey at Miss World 2019, Suman shared that she was delighted to be on an international flight and she taught some of her Miss World sisters Bollywood songs and Hindi. She learnt about the famous French etiquette, including the right way to air kiss. Suman also mentioned that her 25 days in London felt like a tour of the world out of which one of the most memorable one was when she celebrated her 21st birthday at a Pizza Place with her Miss World sisters. “I loved everything about London — from the museum and monuments; to our visit to the Houses of Parliament… it was incredible to see these structures that I had only seen in films before. But I love my Indian food, and the local cuisine was a tad bland for my taste. So, pizza was a real treat.”
Talking about how beauty pageants have evolved in India, Suman mentions that it’s still debatable but she is inspired by the fact that her family who belongs to an orthodox mindset is liberal and accepting the change. She feels that without her family’s support she wouldn’t have achieved what she has achieved today. “They were conditioned to think a certain way, but they’re open to change and I think that’s the definition of progressive,” she stated.
Suman lastly mentioned, “My father worked selflessly to pull the family above the poverty line when I was little, and my mother has been our rock, caring for the household, which included my ageing grandparents, with such dedication.” Suman believes that if someone aspires to be somewhere they have to work hard and if someone wants to change something, they have to be dedicated towards it.