Pageantry Achievements
- Femina Miss India 2017: Represented Haryana and won the title of Femina Miss India World 2017.
- Miss World 2017: Crowned in Sanya, China, becoming the sixth Indian woman to win after a 17-year gap.
- Her Beauty with a Purpose project, Project Shakti, focused on menstrual hygiene awareness, earning global recognition.
Acting Career
- Debut in Bollywood: Played Princess Sanyogita opposite Akshay Kumar in Samrat Prithviraj (2022).
- Subsequent Films: Featured in The Great Indian Family (2023) alongside Vicky Kaushal, and Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (2024) with Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff.
- Known for balancing glamour with socially conscious roles and campaigns.
Social Advocacy
- Through Project Shakti, she has championed women’s health and menstrual hygiene, continuing her advocacy beyond pageantry.
- Recognized as a global youth icon, she has been involved in fitness campaigns and international collaborations.
Influence
- Transitioned from a medical student to a global celebrity, inspiring young Indians with her blend of ambition, talent, and social responsibility.
- Continues to be seen as one of Bollywood’s most promising young talents, with rising international visibility.
Manushi’s career is a rare mix of pageant success, cinematic debut, and social impact, making her a standout figure in contemporary Indian entertainment.
Would you like me to also highlight her upcoming projects and international collaborations that are currently in the works?
In the glittering world of Indian entertainment, few journeys are as inspiring as that of Manushi Chhillar. Born on May 14, 1997, in Rohtak, Haryana, this multifaceted talent has seamlessly transitioned from the poised elegance of international pageantry to the high-stakes drama of Bollywood cinema. At just 28 years old, Chhillar isn’t just an actress and model—she’s a symbol of empowerment, philanthropy, and unyielding ambition. As 2025 draws to a close, her star continues to ascend, marked by bold film choices, entrepreneurial ventures, and a commitment to social causes that echo her iconic reign as Miss World.
Early Life: Roots in Resilience and Academia
Manushi’s story begins in a close-knit Haryanvi Jat family, with ancestral ties to Bamnoli village in Jhajjar district. Her father, Mitra Basu Chhillar, is a pioneering physician specializing in regenerative medicine at Soma Wellness in Mumbai. At the same time, her mother, Neelam Chhillar, heads the neurochemistry department at the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences in Delhi. Growing up in such an intellectually stimulating environment, Manushi excelled academically from a young age. She attended St. Thomas’ School in New Delhi, where she topped the All India CBSE in English during Class 12, securing an impressive 96% in her board exams.
Her path seemed set for medicine: She aced the All India Pre-Medical Test (now NEET) on her first try and enrolled in MBBS at Bhagat Phool Singh Medical College in Sonipat. Fluent in Hindi, English, and Haryanvi, and a trained Kuchipudi dancer under the legendary duo Raja and Radha Reddy, Manushi embodied discipline and grace long before the spotlight found her. Yet, destiny had other plans, pulling her toward the runway and the silver screen.
The Pageant Phenomenon: Crowned Miss World 2017
Manushi’s foray into modeling was serendipitous. In December 2016, she became a finalist in the Fashion Big Bazaar-sponsored Campus Princess contest, organized by the Miss India Organization. This propelled her to win Femina Miss India Haryana in April 2017 and, ultimately, the national crown of Femina Miss India World on June 25, 2017, at Yash Raj Films Studio. She also clinched the Miss Photogenic title, earning her a spot at Miss World 2017 in Sanya, China.
What set Manushi apart wasn’t just her poise—it was her purpose. Her advocacy project, Project Shakti, focused on menstrual hygiene awareness, reaching over 20 villages and impacting more than 5,000 women. This initiative not only won her the Beauty with a Purpose award (co-won with another contestant) but also propelled her to victory. On November 18, 2017, she was crowned the 67th Miss World by Stephanie Del Valle, becoming India’s sixth winner and the first since Priyanka Chopra in 2000. It was a historic moment, ending a 17-year drought and igniting national pride.
Her reign was a whirlwind of global impact. Back in India, she addressed the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Hyderabad and became the brand ambassador for Haryana’s Anaemia Eradication Campaign. Project Shakti secured ₹18 crore in government funding for free sanitary napkins in schools. Manushi’s travels took her to London, the US, Brazil, South Africa (where she inaugurated sanitary pad units in Nelson Mandela’s birthplace alongside President Cyril Ramaphosa), and beyond, promoting causes like leprosy awareness, Down syndrome support, and gender equality. She even judged Femina Miss India 2018 and crowned her successor, Vanessa Ponce de León, in December 2018. Despite a leg injury that sidelined her for a month, her year-long tenure was defined by tireless advocacy, earning her the CNN-IBN Indian of the Year Special Achievement Award and topping Google’s trending personalities list for 2017.
Bollywood Beckons: A Cinematic Odyssey
With her pageant crown relinquished, Manushi signed a three-film deal with Yash Raj Films, marking her acting debut in the 2022 historical epic Samrat Prithviraj. Opposite Akshay Kumar, she portrayed the resilient Queen Sanyogita, stepping into the demanding world of period drama. Though the film underperformed at the box office and drew mixed reviews for her novice performance, it was a bold launchpad.
Undeterred, 2023 brought The Great Indian Family, a comedy-drama starring Vicky Kaushal, in which she played Jasmeet Kaur Randhawa. Critics like Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com described her role as “strictly ornamental,” and the film struggled at the box office. Yet, Manushi’s trajectory gained momentum in 2024 with the bilingual action-thriller Operation Valentine, opposite Varun Tej, as Wing Commander Aahna “Eva” Gill. India Today’s Sana Farzeen praised her sincerity, despite screenplay shortcomings. Later that year, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan paired her with Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff in a high-octane action-comedy, which, despite negative reviews, showcased her versatility in a blockbuster ensemble.
This year, 2025, has been transformative. Her first release, Maalik (July 11), saw her as Shalini, the wife of a local gangster, opposite Rajkummar Rao. In a role she described as one “very few imagined me in,” Manushi embraced a gritty, unconventional character, earning acclaim for her grounded portrayal from The Hindu’s Anuj Kumar. The film, also starring Prosenjit Chatterjee, has garnered modest box office success, collecting over ₹19 crore in its opening week. Promoting it, the cast visited Delhi’s Bangla Sahib Gurudwara for blessings, a moment that went viral for its humility.
Looking ahead, Tehran—a geopolitical thriller produced by Maddock Films—promises an even edgier avatar. As Divya Rana, opposite John Abraham, Manushi sports a cropped wavy haircut and wields firearms in action sequences, a stark departure from her elegant image. Set for a late 2025 streaming release, it’s poised to solidify her shift toward character-driven narratives.
Beyond films, Manushi’s creative pursuits include a sizzling collaboration with Diljit Dosanjh in the music video “Kufar” from his album Aura (October 2025). The track’s vibrant energy and its crackling chemistry have amassed millions of views, highlighting her evolution as a performer unafraid to experiment.
Beyond the Spotlight: Philanthropy, Brands, and Business
Manushi’s influence extends far beyond reels. Her Project Shakti evolved to include HIV/AIDS education in rural areas, and she’s championed causes like the Fit India Campaign, World Bicycle Day, and UNICEF’s COVID-19 awareness drives. As a UN Women affiliate, she supports the ‘Orange the World’ initiative against gender-based violence. In 2021, she joined Adidas’s “Make A Move” campaign with athletes like Dipika Pallikal to dismantle barriers for women. A vocal vegetarian advocate, she was named India’s Hottest Vegetarian by PETA in 2019.
Her endorsement portfolio reads like a who’s who of luxury: From Malabar Gold and Diamonds (brand ambassador since 2018) and Pantene to global giants like Estée Lauder (India’s first global ambassador in 2025) and Dior. In May 2024, she became the face of lingerie brand Clovia, and in 2023, she was appointed global ambassador for the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council.
Entrepreneurially, Manushi co-founded Soma Wellness, blending regenerative therapies with holistic care—a nod to her medical roots. In 2024, she launched Dweep, a sustainable swimwear and resort wear line with stylist Sheefa J Gilani, emphasizing eco-friendly fashion for women.
Awards have followed: Nominated for Best Female Debut at the 68th Filmfare Awards (2023), she won Fresh Face at the 2019 Lokmat Stylish Awards and Super Stylish Emerging Talent at the 2022 Pinkvilla Style Icons. She’s also The Times of India’s Most Desirable Woman (2017) and a Cannes Film Festival debutante (2023).
A Timeless Legacy: Eight Years of Inspiration
As Manushi marked the eighth anniversary of her Miss World win on November 18, 2025, with a heartfelt social media tribute to her crowning moment, fans reflected on her enduring legacy. Just weeks ago, on November 10, she dazzled as a showstopper at Lucknow Fashion Week 2025, blending tradition and modernity in a ‘Shauq’ themed finale attended by Uttar Pradesh’s Tourism Minister Jaiveer Singh. Earlier this year, in August, she inaugurated the IMC Ladies Wing’s Women Entrepreneurs Exhibition in Mumbai, underscoring her role as a mentor and motivator.
From a medical student’s dream deferred to a global icon’s uncharted path, Manushi Chhillar proves that faithful Beauty lies in purpose and perseverance. With Tehran on the horizon and her multifaceted empire expanding, 2025 isn’t an endpoint—it’s a launchpad for even greater heights. In an industry that often typecasts, Manushi is rewriting the script, one empowering step at a time.
