Actress and former medical student Manushi Chhillar has opened up about the psychological and emotional cost of being forced to retake the medical entrance examination following the 2015 paper leak — describing it as one of the toughest phases of her life, while acknowledging the far greater hardship faced by thousands of other aspirants across the country.

The Moment Everything Reset

Speaking on actress Soha Ali Khan's YouTube talk show All About Her, Manushi recalled the disorientation of being told, after months of rigorous preparation and a good rank, that the exam had been cancelled and she would need to start over. 'When you're told that after months of preparation you have to continue for another 45 days, you wonder how much more you have left to give,' she said.

The episode also featured renowned psychiatrist Dr. Anjali Chhabria and explored the broader pressures of India's hyper-competitive entrance examination ecosystem — including academic burnout, anxiety, and emotional resilience among students.

Privilege, Sacrifice, and the Bigger Picture

Manushi was candid about the personal sacrifices the preparation demanded. 'I was a Kuchipudi dancer, I loved painting, and I had to put all of that aside for a year to focus entirely on my entrance exam,' she said. Yet she was equally quick to contextualise her experience within a starker national reality.

'I met students whose parents had borrowed beyond their means to send them to coaching centres. Many had moved cities, lived in cramped PG accommodations, and spent every single day preparing for one exam,' she recalled. She added that some peers had already returned to their hometowns after accommodation leases ended, losing the environment they needed to continue preparing — a logistical and psychological blow on top of the exam cancellation itself.

The Role of Family and Routine

Manushi credited her parents with helping her stay grounded during the extended preparation period. Her family insisted on one hour of physical activity every day — whether basketball or a gym session — which she said gave her a critical outlet and protected her mental health. 'It helped me stay connected to people outside the exam bubble,' she noted, acknowledging that many of her peers did not have that luxury.

Having parents who had themselves gone through a similar journey, she said, meant she was at least mentally prepared for the process — even if the lived reality was still 'incredibly difficult.'

From Medicine to Burnout to Bollywood

Manushi also addressed the gradual realisation that medicine was no longer the path she wanted. 'It wasn't as though I woke up one day and decided I didn't want to do it anymore. I genuinely loved studying medicine. But by the time we entered college, most of us were completely exhausted,' she said.

She recalled seniors joking that students would only be happy during the first two days and the last two days of medical college — a dark humour she now reads as a symptom of systemic burnout. 'We believed clearing the entrance exam was the finish line, only to realise there was an even bigger mountain waiting for us,' she reflected.

Manushi Chhillar, crowned Miss World 2017, holds an MBBS degree and later transitioned to Bollywood, making her film debut opposite Akshay Kumar in Samrat Prithviraj in 2022. She has since appeared in The Great Indian Family, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, and Operation Valentine.

Her account comes at a time when examination integrity and student mental health remain live national concerns, with recurring debates over paper leaks, coaching culture, and the psychological toll of high-stakes tests on India's youth.