A year has gone by and once again Miss Universe, one of the most prestigious beauty pageants in the world, is upon us. This year, Miss Universe will take place at the Atlantis Paradise Island in Nassau, Bahamas. This is the 58th Miss Universe and the current Miss Universe is Miss Dayana Mendoza from Venezuela. From the South Asian region, India has been regularly participating in Miss Universe since 1979. The country won the prestigious title two times. Here is a list of women from India who participated in Miss Universe.
Sangeeta Bijlani:
Born on July 9, 1960, Sangeeta Bijlani won Miss India in 1980 and went on to participate in Miss Universe that same year. Sangeeta started her career as a model and went into acting in Bollywood movies. She debuted in 1989, in the hit action movie titled Tridev. She then acted in another sixteen movies but none of them was very much successful. Still, Sangeeta Bijlani is remembered for her dancing skills. Her affair with Salman Khan brought her lots of media attention. In 1996, Sangeeta Bijlani got married to Mohammad Azharuddin, former captain of the Indian cricket team.
Pamela Singh:
This is one beauty queen who was dogged by the world media for all the wrong reasons. Pamela Singh was born in 1961. Her father was an officer in the Indian army. She won the Miss India and went on to participate in Miss Universe in 1982. Pamela became an overnight media sensation when her love affair with a leading Tory MP came out in the 1980s. It rocked the entire country. According to Pamela, had she told everything, it would have brought down the government. With the help of Tory MP, Henry Bellingham, Pamela also got into the House of Commons as a research assistant for David Shaw, MP of Dover. She also had relationships with Carlos Moynihan, the UK sports minister. For this reason many accused her of spying. However, it did not stop their. She went on to have sexual relations with many famous people. She had relationship with Ahmed Gadaff Al Daim, one of the closest aides of Libyan leader Colonel Gadffi. Then there was Henri Bordes, whom she got married and took up the title Bordes. Henri Bordes was a convicted arms dealer. Her relation with Andrew Neil, the then editor of Sunday Times made her the most wanted.
Juhi Chawla:
Who would forget Rashmi in Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (QSQT). The sweet innocent face of Juhi Chawla and her talented acting mesmerized thousands of youngsters those days. Not only QSQT propelled Aamir Khan and Juhi Chawla’s career but also became one of the all time best romantic Bollywood movies. Juhi Chawla was born on November 13, 1967 in Ludhiana, Punjab to Dr. S. Chawla and Mona Chawla. Juhi Chawla won the Miss India contest in 1984 and then went to compete in Miss Universe that year. She won the Best Costume Award in Miss Universe. Juhi Chawla debuted in Bollywood in 1986. She did a small role in Sultanat. Then she got her first big break in QSQT and the rest is known to you all. In the late 80s and the 90s Juhi Chawla was few of the top Bollwyood actress along with Madhuri Dixit, Sri Devi, and others. She acted in more than seventy commercial Hindi movies. From 2000 onwards Juhi Chawla mainly focused on Punjabi movies and parallel cinema. Some of her major movies are: Jhankaar Beats, My Brother Nikhil, Bas Ek Pal, Love Love Love, Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman, Darr, Hum Hain Rahi Pyaar Ke, Ram Jaane, Yes Boss, and Ishq.
Madhu Sapre:
Born in Nagpur, Maharashtra, Madhu Sapre wanted to be an athlete but she became a successful model instead. Madhu Sapre participated in Miss Universe in 1992 and went into top three. Unfortunately she did not win the title. In the interview session, when she was asked what would be the first thing she would do if she had been the head of her country. Madhu replied that he would build a big sports ground in India. Had she given a different answer she would have won the crown but she later said that she had no regrets regarding her answer because she gave an honest answer. Her becoming the head of the state would not erradicate poverty from India overnight but there are areas like sports where India can improve. During her days as an athlete, Madhu suffered because there were no better equipments or athletic ground in India. So she wanted to build a big athletic ground. Currently, Madhu Sapre lives in Italy. She is happily married to an Italian businessman Gian Maria.
Namrata Shirodkar:
Namrata Shirodkar was born on January 22, 1972 to a moderate Marathi-speaking family. Her grandmother, Meenakshi Shirodkar was a famous Marathi actress in the 1930s. Namrata’s elder sister Shilpa Shirodkar was also a successful actress in Bollywood. Namrata started her career as a model. She won Miss India in 1993 and went on to participate in Miss Universe that year. She went into the top six at Miss Universe. She also participated in Miss Asia Pacific and became the first runner up in 1993. Namrata started her movie career in 1998 by doing a small role in Jab Pyaar Kisi Se Hota Hai with Salman Khan. She then did a number of movies but none of them was successful enough to establish her as a top actress in Bollywood industry. Her last movie, Bride and Prejudice, where she played Aishwarya Rai’s elder sister was a big hit in the U.K but failed in India. Namrata Shirodkar got married to a Tollywood actor, Mahesh Babu.
Sushmita Sen:
You can call her the proverbial dark horse. It happened at the Miss India contest in 1994. Everybody knew that Aishwarya Rai would win the contest for sure as she was the top favorite. However, that did not happen. A long legged girl named Sushmita Sen took away the title making Aishwarya Rai the first runner up. The contest created serious controversy all over India. Like Lara Dutta, Sushmita Sen’s father also served in the Indian Airforce. Sushmita studied in Hindi medium school. She started as a model and after winning Miss Universe in 1994, she went to acting in Bollywood movies. Some of her successful movies are: Biwi No.1, Aaghaaz, Mudhalvan, Aankhen, Samay: When Time Strikes, Main Hoon Na, Chingaari, Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya?.
Manpreet Kaur Brar:
After Sushmita Sen, Manpreet Kaur Brar won Miss India in 1995 and went on to participate in Miss Universe in 1995. Brar became the first runner up behind Miss USA Chelsi Smith. The dress she wore at the grand finale was designed by Ritu Kumar and she was sponsored by The Times of India. Born on March 2, 1973, Manpreet Brar did her graduation in Community Resource Management and Extension from Lady Irwin College in New Delhi. Many Indian models went to Bollywood at this point but Manpreet did not do so. She continued her modeling career. She became the Brand Ambassador of Omega, the famous watch company. She also hosted prestigious award shows like Filmfare Awards, Graviera Manhun and AD Club awards. She also hosted TV shows like Star Miss India, BPL Oye and Mangta Hai on Channel V.
Nafisa Joseph:
Not every beauty queen has a happily every after. Nafisa Joseph is one such unfortunate one. Nafisa Joseph was born on March 28, 1978 to Nirmal Joseph and Usha Joseph. Usha Joseph is the first cousin of Sharmila Tagore and a descendent of novel prize winning Bengali poet, Rabindranath Tagore. Nafisa started modeling at the age of twelve. Her neighbour brought her an opportunity to work as a model for a Wearhouse ad. She was trained by Prasad Bidapa. After winning the Miss India crown in 1997 Nafisa went on to compete in Miss Universe and went to the semi-finals. Nafisa then worked as a VJ and became very much popular. For five years, she hosted MTV’s “HouseFull.” She also acted in a TV series titled C.A.T.S., an Indian version Charlie’s Angels on Sony Entertainment Television. On July 24, 2004, Nafisa Joseph hung herself in her apartment in Mumbai. She was upset because her marriage with businessman Gautam Khanduja had been called off as it was revealed that Khanduja was still married at that time but he told Nafisa that he had been divorced for two years.
Gul Panag:
Gul Panag was born in Chandigarh. Her father, Lieutenant General H S Panag, is in the Indian Army and is at present Army Commander, Central Command. Because of her father’s frequent transfer, she has the opportunity to go all over India. She changed fourteen schools. Since her young age, Gul Panag had keen interest in sports and public speaking. She won many debate competitions at the state and national level. She is a two-time gold medal winner at the Annual National Inter University Debate. She won Miss India crown 1999. She was also crowned as Miss Beautiful Smile. In Miss Universe 1999 she made it to the top ten contestants. After finishing her studies, Gul Panag started her acting career. In 2003, she acted in Dhoop. This is followed by Dor, Manorama Six Feet Under, Hello, Summer 2007, Straight and A Rectangular Love Story.
Lara Dutta:
A successful model turned actress, Lara Dutta was born on April 16, 1978 in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh to Wing Commander L.K. Dutta and Jennifer Dutta. Lara Dutta has two older sisters one of whom serves in the Indian Air force. Lara Dutta came into modeling by winning the prestigious Gladrags modeling competition. She then went on to compete and won Miss Intercontinental in 1997 in Freidburg, Germany. Then in 2000, she participated in Miss Universe and won the title. She was the second women from India to win the title. That year, there was serious competition between Miss USA, Miss Venezuela, Miss Spain and Miss Canada. She scored 9.99, highest score ever achieved by any individual in personal interview session in the history of Miss Universe beauty pageant. In answer to her last question, she passionately talked about Miss Universe and other beauty pageants. Post Miss Universe, Lara Dutta went into acting. Currently, she is one of the most sought after actresses in Bollywood. Some of her successful movies are: Masti (2004), Kaal (2005), No Entry (2005) and Partner (2007).
Celina Jaitley:
Her grey eyes and beautiful face turns all the heads where ever she goes.She wanted to join the army as a doctor or pilot. Instead, she became a beauty queen and currently a Bollywood actress. Celina Jaitley was born on November 24, 1979 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Her father, V.K. Jaitley, is a retired Indian army colonel and her mother was a nurse in the Indian army and an Afghan beauty queen. Celina won the Femina Miss India Univese in 2001. She also won Miss Margo Beautiful Skin, Indiatimes Surfer’s Choice and MTV’s Most Wanted award. She became the 4th runner up at Miss Universe 2001. However, Celina Jaitley said that she was treated unfairly by media and others at Puerto Rico where Miss Universe took place that year. In 2003, Celina Jaitley got into Bollywood Janasheen. Her major movies include: Khel, Silsilay, No Entry, Suryam, Jawani Diwani: A Youthful Joyride, Zinda,Tom, Dick, and Harry, Apna Sapna Money Money, Red: The Dark Side, Shakalaka Boom Boom, Money Hai Toh Honey Hai, Golmaal Returns, Paying Guest. In 2007, Celina Jaitley shot her first international movie, Love Has No Language, in New Zealand. It was a romantic comedy. Celina Jaitley is also going to play Persian princess in the Quest of Scheherezade. In this movie she will work with Sean Connery and Orlando Bloom.
Neha Dhupia:
Neha Dhupia was born in August 27, 1980 to Pradi Dhupia, an Indian Navy Commander and mother Manpinder. She has been raised as a Sikh. Neha Dhupia went to Naval Public School in Cochin. She was then transferred o Army Public School at Dhaula Kuan, New Delhi. She graduated in History from Jesus and Mary College. Neha Dhupia participated at Miss Universe 2002 beauty pageant in Puerto Rico and finished into the Top Ten. She got into acting in New Delhi. There she took part into a stage play titled “Graffiti.” At the age of 19, Neha Dhupia acted in a TV serial titled Rajdhani which was produced by Bobby Bedi. She also worked as an anchor in a travel show named “Moosafir Hoon Yaaron.” She also worked in a TV series, “SSHH. Koi Hai” for Star Plus. As a model, she did ad campaigns for Reebok, National, Pepsi, LG, Gillet, maruti, Meena Bazar and Mitsubishi Lancer. She also walked the ramp for Rina Dhaka, Monisha Bajaj, Kuene Hair show, NIFT New Delhi, Airtel, Ogaan. In 2003, she debuted in Bollywood with Qayamat:City Under Threat. The movie was sucessful and established Neha as an actress. She then worked in Sheesha (2005), Kyaa Kool Hai Hum (2005), Shootout at Lokhandwala (2007), Dus Kahaniyaan (2007), Chup Chup Ke, Ek Chalis Ki Last Local, Mithya, Maharathi, Singh Is King, Dasvidaniya.
Tanushree Dutta:
Tanushree Dutta was born on Mach 19, 2004, in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand. Her father worked in Life Insurance Corporation of India. Tanushree attended D.B.M.S. English School in Jamshedpur. She has a degree in Commerce from Brihan Maharashtra College of Commerce. Prior to joining Femina Miss India, she was working as an event manager at the Oracle Institute. In 2004, at the age of twenty years, Tanushree Dutta won the Femina Miss India Universe. She also won title of Miss Confidence and Miss Beautiful Smile. She then went on to participate in Miss Universe in Ecuador. In 2005, she debuted in Bollywood with the movie Chocolate: Deep Dark Secrets but it released later. Prior to that Aashiq Banaya Aapne went to the theatre. Her kissing scene and bed scene with Emraan Hashmi instantly established her as a “sex symbol” of Bollywood. However, at the later stage of her career she did not do any roles that required her to kissing or sex scenes. Her major movies are: Risk, Good Boy Bad Boy, Raqeeb, Dhol, Speed, Saas Bahu Aur Sensex.
Ekta Choudhary:
Ekta Choudhary is the present Femina Miss India Universe 2009. A resident of Delhi Ekta is twenty two years old. With a height of 5'9.5" and 32-24-36 Ekta Choudhary is a perfect beauty. The judges panel for the grand finale consisted of big names from Indian showbiz including Madhur Bhandarkar, Ajay Devgan, Sushmita Sen, Asin and Deepika Padukone. Former Miss World and actress Priyanka Chopra, Kangana Ranaut and Genelia D’Souza performed in the show. Ekta Choudhary is now staying at Nassau in Bahamas to participate in Miss Universe 2009.
Related articles:
Femina Miss India-Wikipedia
Miss Universe-Wikipedia
South Asiabiz
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