Today, we are interviewing an upcoming modelling sensation, Ashi Khanna, a girl who’s been a popular muser on the well known musical.ly site, a model for various brands, and most importantly a generous soul. Ashi is a social media influencer and has worked with brands like L’oreal, Daniel Wellington etc. Ashi has also done a shoot with Images Bazaar and has been face of Airtel’s ad recently.
Ashi Khanna, in an exclusive interview with Student Stories
1. Firstly, who or what was reason that made you decide to step into this field?
I really wanted to live a life of a celebrity. Whenever I used to scroll down my feed, I always thought, “I wish I were her” or “I wish even I had that opportunity”, but merely thinking won’t get you anywhere, you need to work for it. I got my first shoot after I started building my Instagram profile, which was for a designer boutique in Shahpur Jaat. It is basically a hub of luxury Indian wear outfits. So that was basically my first step into this field, back in 2016.
2. Who was your role model while you were busy aiming high?
I used to observe people very carefully, tried adapting the qualities they had in them. There wasn’t any particular person whom I looked up to, I made sure that I wasn’t a copy of anybody. I have always wanted to create my own identity and make sure that it is unique and has an edge to it.
3. What difficulties have you faced to reach such great heights?
While you are aiming to be successful, you need to know that you’re going to face an incredible amount of criticism. Maintaining the confidence, zeal and determination while you are paving your way through is the most difficult part. People will always try to bring you down but one needs to stay undeterred. So according to me, learning to stay positive and avoiding everybody’s pessimistic opinions has really been a tough task for me.
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4. What do you think is preferable acting or modeling?
Both the professions have their own pros and cons. So this is a very subjective question. But according to me, if you ask, acting is the trump card. The reason being that it has more to explore. You play different roles and learn being versatile. You can be more creative. This is my personal opinion, as I already said that it is a very subjective question.
5. Being a part of a sponsored ad with Airtel seems to be a good catch. How do you rate this milestone in your journey?
I have been doing small projects but yes obviously this Airtel ad being a greater clutch, means a lot to me. I believe that this is just the start and there is much more to come, I am eagerly waiting to experience what life further has in store for me.
6. Being successful at such a tender age is not everyone’s cup of tea, how has your career shaped in the past year?
Nothing worth having comes easy. If you have an aim, if you have faith in yourself, you can achieve it. It doesn’t matter how small or big it is, if you think you can, YOU CAN! Always remember, thoughts become things- that is what I have been following. This has been my mantra. The life that I am living now,the things I have now are something that I once wished for. I haven’t really opted modeling or acting as my career as of now, I am still a student and I have to manage my studies as well. I do this as a hobby and I love it. Last year has been full of ups and downs for me but I think 2017 has been pretty lucky!
7. What can you, as Ashi Khanna, a role model, would like to convey to the readers regarding how they can achieve heights that you’ve achieved?
I haven’t achieved anything that great yet, but I am surely working on it. My message to the readers will be just that stay focused and don’t try to please everybody around you. Because if you do, you will never be able to move ahead in life. It is great if you have people around you who support you. But if not, don’t worry; be a one man army. You are good enough, and you are the best in whatever you do, so continue doing it irrespective of what others think of you. Just don’t give up, keep working for that goal! You are going to make yourself proud, one day.
8. Please name a few people who’ve always stood behind you through your thick and thin. How have they contributed towards your success?
My family, hands down! Rest of the people have only played a temporary role in my life but still I am grateful to them as they have always taught me something or the other. Some of my friends have been a lesson and some a blessing. Above all, my family has always supported me in whatever I have done and they continue to do so. They have never restricted my path , they’ve given me the freedom that I required to reach here and where I am aiming right now. There is so much more to achieve.
Know more about Ashi on her Blog