DELHI: Bollywood actress Sushmita Sen, who won Miss India title in 1994, has disclosed that she was unwilling to join that year’s competition because of the participation of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, the winner of the Miss World 1994 pageant.
An old video has been circulating on Reddit where Sushmita revealed she was unwilling to compete against the fantastic Aishwarya. She almost withdrew from the Miss India contest.
In the video clip, the Main Hoon Na star further revealed that her mother scolded her for doing so. She was the one who encouraged Sushmita to participate in the beauty pageant.
She returned the next day to join the contest, where she emerged as the winner in 1994 and made India proud.
During the interview, the 47-years old actress unveiled 25 other girls who had stepped back from the competition because of Aishwarya.
Sushmita’s great win resulted from the tie-breaker round in which she was asked about her personal preferences in clothing and the textile heritage of India. To answer the questions, she credited Mahatma Gandhi’s promotion of Khadi, which became the basis of India’s textile legacy.
In 1994, the actress won the title of Miss Universe and became the first Indian to win the world beauty pageant.
On the work front, Sushmita shoots for her upcoming web series Aarya 3.
