Why More Indian Women Are Choosing the Crown

The Real Story Behind the Pageant Surge By Pratibha Saunshimath , Founder & National Director – Astral Pageants

I still remember the day a 34-year-old homemaker from Belagavi walked into our audition room clutching her toddler’s lunch box in one hand and her dream in the other.
She said, “Ma’am, for 12 years I was known only as someone’s wife and someone’s mother. I want to know who I am when the spotlight is on me.” That moment, repeated hundreds of times across cities and small towns, is exactly why pageants in India are no longer “just beauty contests”. They have quietly become one of the biggest platforms for female reinvention in the country. Let me break down the real reasons thousands of women — from 18-year-old college girls to 45-year-old entrepreneurs to above 60 years — are choosing Miss India-style and Mrs India pageants today, and why the trend has exploded in the last 4–5 years.

It’s Not About the Crown Anymore — It’s About the Comeback

Ramp Walk = Confidence

Five years ago, most women thought pageants ended at 25 and marriage.
Today, married women, single mothers, divorcees, and working professionals form almost 60% of our applicants at Astral Pageants. Why?
Because platforms like Mrs India, and now Astral Mrs India have rewritten the rules: No height/weight criteria in most categories
Age up to 55 in some, at Astral pageants we have had women aged 81 too participate
Focus on life story, talent, advocacy, and intelligence .

• Result? A homemaker from Indore wins Mrs India Worldwide, a cancer survivor from Kochi becomes 1st runner-up, a pilot from Delhi walks the ramp in a saree she designed herself. These stories go viral, and suddenly every woman thinks, “If she can, why not me?”
• Ramp Walk = Confidence Walk Search “ramp walk training” on YouTube in India today and you’ll see millions of views — almost all from women aged 22–40. Walking 30 feet on a stage in 6-inch heels while 500 people stare at you sounds terrifying, right?
• Actually, it’s therapy. Women tell me:
• “I stood straighter in office meetings after learning posture on the ramp.”
• “My husband said I speak with more authority now.”
• “I stopped hiding my C-section scar under sarees — I wore a gown and owned it.” Ramp walk training has accidentally become the most powerful body-language and confidence-building workshop for Indian women who were never taught to take up space.
• From Moral Policing to National Pride Remember when a small-town girl was trolled or stopped by family for wearing a gown?

• That still happens — but now the backlash is louder in her favour. When Muskan Sharma won Miss Rishikesh despite moral policing, the entire internet stood up for her. When Chhattisgarh’s girl became Miss India runner-up, her village celebrated like she won an Olympic medal. Pageant wins from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities are now seen as proof that “our girls can beat metropolitan girls on a national stage”. That pride is addictive. The Bollywood Dream Is Dead — The Real Dream Is Alive Ten years ago, every participant wanted to be the next Priyanka or Aishwarya.
• Today? 40% want to start their own businesses (pageant networks give funding contacts)
• 30% want to become public speakers and influencers
• 25% use the platform for social causes (menstrual hygiene, girl child education, anti-dowry campaigns)
• The crown is no longer a launchpad to Bollywood — it’s a launchpad to themselves. Social Media Made It Accessible One audition reel on Instagram reaches 5 lakh women in 24 hours.
• We don’t need to wait for newspaper ads in 2025. A woman in Nashik sees another Maharashtrian girl win Mrs India, messages her, “Didi how did you prepare?” — and the next season we have 300 more applicants from Maharashtra. That snowball effect is why entries for credible national pageants have jumped 400–500% in the last four years

Message to Every Woman Reading This If you are scared that you are “too old”, “too curvy”, “too married”, “too small-town” — remember this:
The stage is not judging you.
It is waiting to celebrate the version of you that the world has never seen. I started Astral Pageants because I was once that small-town girl who was told pageants are not for “girls like us”.
Today, every time one of our queens walks the ramp owning every inch of who she is, I know exactly why this surge is happening.Because Indian women are no longer asking for permission.
They are taking the crown — and rewriting their own stories. If your heart is racing while reading this, maybe the universe is nudging you toward the ramp too. See you at the auditions.
The spotlight is ready when you are. With love & belief,
Pratibha Saunshimath
Founder – Astral Pageants

“Turning ordinary women into extraordinary stories”

P.S. Drop “I’m ready” in the comments if this spoke to you. I read every single one.

WEBSITE ; https://astralpageants.com/

INSTAGRAM : https://www.instagram.com/missmrsindiaastral.official?igsh=MTR1a2djM2I0ZnZqMw==

REGISTRATION LINK ; https://astralpageants.com/registration/