Indian women have stopped winning beauty pageants with the regularity that they used to, but at one point in time it was almost inevitable that Miss India would win something or the other at the Miss World and the Miss Universe contests at least every couple of years. Here's our look at beauty queens who made it to the big screen.
Sushmita Sen ' 1994 Miss Universe: Sush pipped Ash for the Miss India crown and then went on to show that this was no fluke by also winning Miss Universe. Her success against Ash didn't work out as well in Bollywood as we all know. Perhaps it was the films she chose, and perhaps her magnetism on stage did not translate to charisma on stage, whatever the reason, she wasn't really able to make it despite trying hard with films like Biwi No 1, Main Hoon Na and Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya. She's still beautiful and has adopted two children Renee and Alisha now, and though she's got no films, she's still a celebrity.
Priyanka Chopra ' 2000 Miss India:- Priyanka Chopra was a beauty queen a decade ago. Wow, seems like a really long time. And it wasn't really the crown that she won, but the second runner up. But she had no easy start to Bollywood, and she has had to grind her way to the top through hard work and dedication. Debuting opposite Akshay Kumar in Andaaz, which also starred Lara Dutta, her success really started with Mujhse Shaadi Karogi, followed by Aitraaz, Don, Dostana, Fashion and then, finally, Kaiminey, in which she astonished insiders with the quality of her acting. She won the national award for it and nothing really can be added to that.
Lara Dutta ' 2000 Miss Universe :- Lara Dutta's story is a little like Sushmita Sen's. Beautiful woman, very intelligent, great stage presence, but not as successful in movies. It is true that Lara gets many roles, but they are all in multi-starrers and she makes up the numbers, so to speak. She has never broken into the top rank and has never been spoken of as a contender, which is a shame because she's so lovely. She has a way to go yet and we hope that she does crack it in a bigger way than she has.
Dia Mirza - 2000 Asia Pacific:- Making it into the beauty queen brigade the same year as Priyanka Chopra 10 years ago, Dia has been knocking actively on the doors of Bollywood producers for a long, long time. But alas, except for the occasional project, not much has come to hand. She is beautiful and ambitious and has her share of fans. She has no hits, but still has a couple of years to prove herself.
Diana Hayden ' 1997 Miss World :- We can safely say that Diana did not make it and now cannot make it because of her age (she's 37). She did a few C grade movies after her initial foray into Bollywood did not work, and then after a hiatus she came to television in Bigg Boss 2. That sort of made her a celebrity again and she's spotted at the odd event, but as for fame and money, those days are past.
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