Nikita Dutta: At the pageant, I was told I was the heaviest

Updated On: 25 October, 2023 07:23 AM IST | Mumbai | Sonia Lulla

Tracing the evolution of her fitness journey since her days as a Miss India participant, actor Nikita Dutta emphasises the importance of outdoor activities, yoga

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Kabir Singh actor Nikita Dutta admits that prior to her exposure to nutrition science as part of her participation in the Miss India beauty pageant in 2012, her approach to designing a wellness routine was cursory. “It was then that I learned how to structure a diet, and the importance of its various components. Because I was always struggling to stay in shape to look a certain way, I really got into it. Since then, I have been learning about wellness [intricately],” she reveals, acknowledging that while not entirely true, people’s perception of the exhaustive physical demands placed on models is not entirely misplaced either.

“There are people who take the short cut to achieve what they want. At the end of it, everybody tries to do what works for them. I remember being constantly told that I was the heaviest contestant. We [would be] made to stand in a line, and I was always told that my legs were looking big, and that I needed to exercise. At the age of 20, such comments [affected] me. I started working out way too much, and, believing that I was doing the right thing, forced my body to pull off far too much. Behind the ramp, there is a lot that [goes] on. To constantly go through this was a bit traumatic.”

Dutta has completed a teacher’s training course in yoga; (right) Nikita Dutta