Opening Doorz

By Mhevish Memon | Opening Doorz Editorial | March 02, 2020

Life is unpredictable; within a span of eight months, Snehal Hake’s life changed completely. It all began in 2019 when a stroke left her father partially paralysed for the second time. A rickshaw driver, he was the only earning member in her family his illness saw him bed-ridden for almost three weeks.

As the eldest in her family, Snehal had to do something. Her parents never asked her to step up and start earning to run the house but she was mature enough to understand the situation and take it positively. For a while, she gave up on her dreams of modelling to support her family financially and joined her very first job as a business development executive. It was not easy blending into the work environment for the B.Com graduate from Narsee Monjee College. She stuck it out.

Snehal caught the eye of the experts at Cocoaberry, Talent and Academy as she bagged the Promising Face Award. Shy, unassuming but aware of her talent, Snehal has taken time to come out of her cocoon. “Growing up, I was an introvert and a very shy girl,” she informs. “So while working in this organisation at my first job, I learnt that one does not have to transform into an extrovert to succeed in life or work. As an introvert, what works for you on the job is going to be different from what works for an extrovert and that’s okay,” she adds.

Snehal’s father has always been her biggest inspiration in life. He has always given her the strength to fight all her fears and overcome them. “I have no regrets in life,” she says. “After I left my first job, I applied for another one and took a tiny step towards my dream of becoming a Miss India,” she says of her stint at Cocoaberry under the watchful eye of supermodels Alesia and Anjali Raut. “In no time I discovered my true self during the training sessions. Cocoaberry is a place where you could get transformed from a tomboy into a Diva,” she smiles. While at the Academy, she learnt to flaunt even her minor flaws beautifully and understood the importance of self-love and self-confidence. “Today, I am a completely different person, a bolder and better version of myself.” Incidentally, Snehal is not the only one to come out of the Academy with her confidence high: many girls who have been groomed here have gone on to win pageants at the top level.

Being on the darker side, Snehal believes that achievement has no colour. “Racism has always been one the most sensitive topics in the Indian society and people think that there is no place for dark skin in the glamour world but I don’t think that is true,” she says with her new-found confidence. Being an introvert, Snehal may not have earned many friends in life but she has a very loving and supportive family who understands her in and out.

As for her dad, he is back on the job and that is a huge relief for her family. This gives the 21-year-old (who once wanted to become an IAS officer to serve the nation) the room now to pursue her dream of making it into the glam world with even more determination.

“I actually feel representing India on the international level as a Miss India contestant itself is a great responsibility and an opportunity to make my country proud,” she sums up.

Alesia Raut Suryavanshi on Snehal Hake:
It’s a face that will be able to launch a lot of brands. She is photogenic. You can use her as a commercial face and you can also use her as a fashion face. She can transform in both the categories beautifully.

Also Read: Anusuiya Sarmah: Cocoaberry talent to watch out for!