When Sushmita Sen almost withdrew her Miss India form because of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan: 'Jo joote pade...'

Sushmita Sen made India proud when she was crowned Miss Universe in 1994. She was the first Indian to win the Miss Universe Crown. But did you know that she was underconfident before winning the title as Aishwarya Rai had also participated that year?

However, Aishwarya emerged as the runner-up while Sushmita Sen became the winner at the Miss India contest at the age of 18. While speaking about the same, Sushmita talked about her experience of winning the crown at a talk show.

Recalling the competition, she said, “They said, 25 ladkiyan Miss India se naam nikal chuki hai, soch lijiye. I said, kyu, kyu aisa kyu? Kehte hai nahi iss bar Aishwarya Rai Miss India mein jaa rahi hai. Maine kaha bhai mera bhi form le lijiye, wapas nhi jana mujhe, main to nhi jaa rahi.”

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She also talked about how her mother got angry when she got to know about her decision to withdraw, she said, “Toh main ghar aa gayi, and jo joote pade ghar pe, mummy se. Unhone kaha, ki yeh kya tareeka hota hai, tumne matlab koshish karne se pehle hi haar maan li. Toh theek hai, jeetne do. Agar tumhe lagta hai ke duniya ki sabse khubsurat ladki hai to usse haaro na. Aur kisi se haar ke kya fayda? Go give it your best shot. And phir pohoch gye next day, form leke ki bhai, le lijiye last minute entry.”

Sushmita also mentioned that she told Aishwarya Rai about this, the actress mentioned, “Aish ko maloom hai, Ash ko maine baad mein bataya tha, ki maine to apna form wapas le liya tha. Maine kaha nahi bohot khubsoorat hai bhai. Baki saari duniya janti thi usse, mujhe nahi jaana uske saath.”

While talking about her comparison with Aishwarya Rai, Sushmita mentioned, “I don't compare myself to Aishwarya's performance. I think she was fabulous on stage. I do believe in two things: One, that night, I was the best and that's why I deserved to win, not because I was better than someone else. It is only because I was at my best.” 

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