She’s stuff that winners are made of!

 

And this is not only a comment by others – she, herself, has always believed in it firmly. The ‘Miss Body Beautiful’ (Femina Miss India-2014) and the ‘Best National Costume’ crown holder has been striding across Beauty pageants with heaps & loads of accolades coming her way from all across.

 

Come to think of it, it seemed not even a distant possibility for one born to a nondescript Middle Class Marathi family and bred in the mundane streets of Nagpur. Time was when little Lopa was learning her multiplication tables in the strictly functional ‘Chanda Devi Saraf School’ like any everydaygirl, totally oblivious of the possibilities ‘Life’ had in store for her.

 

Doing well for herself there in her grades; she got enrolled in the ‘GH Raisoni College of Engineering & Management’ in Nagpur and received specialisation in Electrical Engineering from there. Dad, Jeevan Raut and Mom, Ragini Raut couldn’t be happier ashe had been an Accounts Officer with ‘ESEDCL’ and she, a Technical Officer in the Agriculture Department and thereby, both had the typical ‘plain vanilla’ Middle Class dreams about the future of their two daughters, the other being Lopa’s elder sibling, Bhagyashree.

 

But Destiny willed otherwise!

 

Apparently, it had singled out Lopa for a far more kicky and kinetic life in the ‘Glamour-world’ and the same became clearer than crystal to one and all when Lopa participated in the local Femina contest of Goa and her scintillating showing there won her a direct entry to participate in the big time, ‘Femina Miss India, 2013’ pageant.

 

And thereby started a trail of amazing romps in various Beauty-events that made Lopamudra Raut a treasured pet of ‘Ramps’ and Modelling excursions. Winning hearts became a ‘given’ for the doe-eyed belle, who knows how to carry herself besidesinfallibly dazzling the ambience she is in. Through her sylphlike figure and her willowy grace and elegance, she’s become a head-turner as none other for so many of the drooling devotees out there.

 

Come 2017 and the eye-candy chanced upon a big, big opportunity to be the cynosure of countless eyes when she entered ‘Bigg Boss’ (Colors), a Show that can put one on the highest pedestal of popularity. But with that, there also came the typical ‘Reality-show’ trip-wires, which can unhinge the sturdiest of them through its claustrophobic and cataclysmic environs. And it was there that Lopa showed her mettle time and again and largely, her doings in the ‘BB House’ can safely be termed as impeccable, sporadic aberrations notwithstanding.

 

Her incessant slanging matches with Bani, besides even an uncouth physical grapple with her… her mercurial interactions with Rohan Mehra, often exploding into choleric outbursts… her mostly unerring reading of situations and indomitable courage of conviction in putting across her points of view… and above all, her inherent allure and aura (despite the sickening Swami Om calling her ‘BADSOORAT’) – all of that and much more made Lopamudra someone impossible to ignore therein!

 

Ask her as to what set her apart there in the ‘House’ from other inmates and she comes pat on that – ‘My divine thoughts, my passion, eloquence and the courage to dream high…!’ Indeed, she showed all of those facets of her persona in ample measure in there and always gave Bani J, a supposed favourite to win the contest, a run for her money throughout their stay in the BB House.

 

Many looked upon Lopa as the ‘Winner’ this year!

 

And so did Lopa as well – not once she doubted her panache inpipping everybody else to the post, there. A time came when stood amongst the final four, looking resplendent as ever and even more than that, with steely confidence to come up trumps, there.

 

After all, ‘Lopa’ and ‘Laurels’ were synonyms of each other, no?

Well…not anymore… sigh!

 

And she couldn’t move any further than that position, losing, to the thudding consternation of many, at ‘Number-4’!But before that happened, she had decidedly enjoyed a sparkling stay therein. She sided with whomeverand whatever she thought was right… She never batted an eyelid before stamping the (obnoxious) Swami Om a ‘fake’ from the earliest on… she made no bones about her ‘friendship’ with Rohan (Mehra) and even her constant tiffs with Bani never seemed to spring from any malice – they just were differently disposed!

 

And that’s exactly what she said after coming out of the house – ‘Bani and I have different personas - that’s all! I have no ‘animosity’ towards her as such!’ She is also happy for the Aam Aadmi, Manveer (Gurjar) walking away with the Winner’s trophy and hearing her say this, it doesn’t come across as a put on or sham reaction.

 

Indeed, Lopamudra is innately genuine! But yes – the fact also remains that she ‘lost’… despite what she and a vast multitude of viewers thought all the while! Needle her on that and she just shrugs it off -that’s what makes her a class apart. 

 

And it is indeed no end of road for Lopa – by all means, bigger victories await this Bigg Boss loser – maybe, she can even catch on to her biggest dream, which in her words is…

‘A Film with Salman Khan’… We really don’t see why not! 

 

Make no mistake about it - it can’t be any different for someone who’s always believed…

‘If you want to fly with ‘eagles’, don’t waste time swimming with ‘ducks’!

That’s Lopa for you!

- Vierendra Bhargava