You couldn’t tell by looking at Sonal Chauhan’s portfolio, but this model turned actress is surprisingly demure. First discovered by a photographer, who urged her to give modelling a shot, she says she “comes from a conservative Rajput family and never expected this to be my destiny.” The first Indian to have cinched the Miss World Tourism title, Sonal is quick to credit this exposure to her success. “I think winning the title gave me a lot of mileage and helped accelerate my career.” Inspired by her success abroad, the debutante has definitely found her niche, appearing in ads opposite heavyweights like Saif Ali Khan and Mahesh Bhatt’s latest movie Jannat. Not one to be pigeonholed as a charmer, she plays the role of an unaffected girl in her debut film based on love and cricket. She’s keeping her résumé eclectic by signing up for a supernatural sequel Raaz 2 and an untitled Telugu film. The unassuming beauty who admires Madhuri Dixit has already set really high expectations for herself. “I know it sounds far fetched but I’ll try hard to make a career emulating her success.”

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