Opening Doorz

By Lisha Gomes | Opening Doorz Editorial | April 29, 2021

Whenever faced with difficulties, you could either choose to mope about them or use them to build yourself up. Kajol Muskan Hussain chose to use all the problems life threw at her to build herself up into the confident woman she is today. She aspires to build a career in modelling and acting and is ready to face any obstacle that stands in her way. Her belief is simple: “We never win or lose, we always learn.”

From the age of 11, Kajol, who hails from Chhattisgarh, has faced many problems. Being a dusky, lower-middle-class girl who speaks only Hindi, made her journey into the glam scene much more challenging. She had to train and learn everything from scratch, but her resilience kept her going. Today, she has made it to the finals of the MTV show ‘Forbidden Angels’ which she hopes can be the stepping stone to her Bollywood career. From a naïve girl (who was the butt of ridicule for her stammering) to a bold woman who can express herself freely, Kajol Muskan Hussain has come a long way. 

Tragedy at a very early age…

Kajol lost her father when she was just 11 years old. A driver, he was the only earning member of the family. After her father’s death, Kajol, her mother and her two sisters were left with nothing, not even a house of their own. This incident helped her mature and become more independent than most children her age. Her mother took up a teaching job and her older sister earned money by teaching other students, alongside studying and made sure that Kajol achieved everything she wanted to. “It is because of this situation that I can face any challenge thrown my way and find a way out of even the toughest situation,” says Kajol. 

Passionate about theatre…

After being continually bullied by her classmates for stammering, Kajol practised and did several speech exercises and became a national level debater. Once she was able to speak boldly, her passion for acting intensified. She went on to do her Bachelors in Theatre and moved to Mumbai where she did her Masters in Theatre at the Mumbai University. “It has been a struggle to get a decent role. I have to give 9 to 10 auditions to get one call back,’ she reveals. She has done cameos in several series but a role that she related to and enjoyed was one of a soldier in the series ‘Forbidden Army’. She hasn’t cracked a big role yet but hopes to do it sometime soon. 

From a small town to the ramp…

After completing her Junior College, Kajol wanted to pursue modelling. For a small-town girl, however, this seemed to be a big dream. However, Kajol took a decision and moved to Mumbai where she participated in several ramp-walking competitions while completing her Masters. It was when she finally trained under Alesia and Anjali Raut at Cocoaberry Talent and Academy that she was able to perfect everything from her walk to her talk. Language and age were two of the major setbacks she faced. “I was training at the age of 26 and there were girls who were 16 and 17 training with me,” smiles Kajol. By the time she perfected herself, her age to participate in pageants like Miss Diva and Miss India had passed. Nonetheless, she aspires to walk the ramp for top designers. 

MTV show: Forbidden Angels…

The training Kajol received at Cocoaberry helped her when she auditioned for ‘Forbidden Angels’ as it enabled her to develop the confidence and skill she needed. According to S K Ahluwalia of Waveband Productions, ‘Forbidden Angels’ is all about girls having a disadvantage. “Small town background, the colour of skin or lack of command over a language makes them outcasts for others. However, we provide a platform to these forbidden talents to come forward and show their skills,” he says. The show has two main judges—Mugdha Godse and Cyrus Sahukar—with a third judge who changes every week.

Initially, there were 2000 girls from which 500 were chosen through online auditions. From these, 150 girls were called for offline auditions and 20 were finalised. These 20 girls had to audition in front of Mugdha and Cyrus who then selected 12. After this, they had 7 different stages like a talent round and photoshoot to name a few and each stage had a different judge. Kajol has now made it to the finals from the initial 2000 people!

Nawazuddin Siddiqui, her inspiration…

Kajol doesn’t have a certain person who has been her constant inspiration but she has always looked up to her sister and takes her advice whenever she is in a difficult spot. An actor with high regard for is Nawazuddin Siddique because of how well he has done in his career despite all the struggles he has faced throughout his life. She believes that it is the struggles that help people become good actors. Next week, Kajol will know if she has made it to the top from 2000 girls in ‘Forbidden Angels’.

(Lisha Gomes is a third-year BMM (Bachelor of Mass Media) student at St. Andrews College, Bandra, Mumbai. She is passionate about reading, enjoys singing and has also participated in a few dance shows. She plays soccer for her college. She was a star performer for her school, Mary Immaculate Girls High School, Borivali).

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