India’s glory was matchless in 90’s and early 2000’s, the much celebrated National Director of Venezuela, Osmel Sousa, once said, if India enters Top 5 of any pageant, it is time for other countries to pack their bags! No country has achieved such huge accomplishment of winning four Miss World, two Miss Universe, One Miss Asia Pacific and several runner ups and placements in just six years! Indian beauty queens are certainly a league of their own. However, in the last 15 years, the graph of India’s performance has been taking thunderous twirls and turns at Miss Universe and Miss World. India has successfully managed to place at both the pageants quite frequently, also adding up various runner ups to its accolades but the quest for the crown is still ongoing! This year, Urvashi Rautela and Aditi Arya will be face of India at two of the world’s biggest and renowned pageants, Miss Universe and Miss World, respectively.
Femina Miss India never saw a tiebreaker question till 1994, which introduced the first tiebreaker to the pageant. The thrilling essence of the moment is still fresh in Indian pageant enthusiasts, when two prestigious gems, Sushmita Sen and Aishwarya Rai stood as the final two crown contenders.
Until the final round, Aishwarya had effortlessly won every round, including the top 10 interview round. Sushmita was leisurely climbing up the ladder, as she stood 2nd in the top 10 interview round. Conversely, Aishwarya faltered on the final question. All top five finalists had to answer the same question, and the question was "If you could change one event in history, what would it be any why?” Aishwarya Rai held, she would be born earlier so she could stop the World Wars from occurring, while Sushmita Sen affirmed, she would forestall the assassination of famous Indian Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi. Both had the same average score, and for the first time in the history of Miss India, a tie had occurred. The rules state, in case of a tie, the final round is held yet again, and judges rescore the answers of the opponents. On the second juncture, Sushmita gave a wobbly answer, but still impressed the judges enough to score an average of 9.41 to Aishwarya's 9.39.
When Sushmita was crowned, many people believed that India missed its shot at the Miss Universe crown, as Aishwarya Rai has lost the title, but Sushmita astonished the nation when she won the Miss Universe crown later in May that year. Not be vanquished, in the very first time of Indian history, Aishwarya also went to win the Miss World crown in November 1994, becoming the second Miss World from India.
The second tie at Femina Miss India happened in 1997, between the late, Nafisa Joseph and Diana Hayden in the final round, and the final round was held again, with a new final question. The new final question was "If you could marry a historical figure from the past, who would it be any why?” Nafisa Joseph said Abraham Lincoln, and easily won the crown. When asked about how she felt on losing the crown, Diana said that she "thanked god". Since she was the representative to Miss World she had got a lot more time for training. Nafisa could only manage a top 10 showing at Miss Universe, while Diana Hayden went on to win the Miss World crown in 1997.
The third time a tie occurred at Femina Miss India was in the year 2000. This time, the tie was between Lara Dutta and Priyanka Chopra. Lara had won every round before the final round, but the fissure between her and Priyanka was tapering. This time, Lara Dutta emerged as the winner, with Priyanka coming in second, and Dia third. And yet again, the tie-break proved to be a lucky charm, as Lara went on to win Miss Universe 2000, and later that year Priyanka won the Miss World title too! And wait, that is no all! Dia, who was crowned Miss India Asia Pacific at the pageant, also won the Miss Asia Pacific title a few days after Priyanka won Miss World! This was the first time that all three winners at the Femina Miss India contest went on to win their respective titles!
It has been 15 years since India saw the glorious dream coming true! With this year, Urvashi Rautela as Miss Universe India and Aditi Arya as Miss World India, India can confidently assert its powerhouse status once again! This year is assumed as lucky and strong for India as both the delegates are incredibly suitable for their respective pageants.
Urvashi Rautela won Miss Universe India title in 2012, and was expected to represent India at Las Vegas in Miss Universe 2012, however since she was 23 days younger than the required age, she was dethroned from the title. Urvashi has been modeling since the age of 14, and has also won pageants like Miss Asian Supermodel 2011 and Miss Tourism Queen of the Year 2011, along with the title of Miss Teen India 2009. After getting dethroned, Urvashi went on to Bollywwod venture, where she accomplished herself quiet tumultuously. Soon after entering the Bollywood, Urvashi managed to accumulate fanatical fan following all over India, she is now rumored to appear at a popular Hollywood series, Game of Thrones. Her facebook fan following counts more than 3 million, which is way ahead than the fan following of official Miss Universe facebook handle. This year, Urvashi stunned all her fans, when she turned off her major Bollywood projects and came back for Miss Universe India pageant, which she predictably won!
Also Read : Urvashi Rautela for Miss Universe 2015
The series of coincident does not end here, the only woman to have won Miss India title twice, Urvashi will be representing India again at Las Vegas in the Miss Universe pageant, a journey which was left incomplete three years back! Having judged many international pageants herself and being trained by three former international beauty queens like Sushmita Sen, Lara Dutta and Diana Hayden, Urvashi is considered to be one of the most unbeatable delegates at Miss Universe this year. The fortune has offered her second chance with some reason, and she is making sure, that she makes the most of it!
On the other hand, Miss World India, Aditi Arya, who has been celebrated for her warm and congenial attitude, is definitely a scene stealer at Miss World pageant. She is already in Sanya, China as India at Miss World, and is mesmerizing one and all with her beauty, wit and personality. In March 2015, Aditi Arya was crowned after giving a clever answer in the final question and answer round. Aditi has been associated with NGOs like Protsahan, Amitasha and Blackboard Foundation, which strive to assist impoverished children by educating them through digital media and vocational training. Currently, Aditi is also known as the Women and Child Health Development Ambassador of Haryana and is working on the Anganwadi upliftment for her Beauty with a Purpose project at Miss World 2015.
Also Read : Aditi Arya for Miss World 2015
Aditi Arya is one of those very few Miss India who is a perfect amalgamation of beauty, intellect, amicability and humbleness. A lady who can convince masses with persuasion, work for the cause with unwavering dedication and has a strong vision to shape her destiny, Aditi is definitely a dark horse in the quest for Miss World crown. Not only will she take India on the zenith of Miss World, but will also leave a flourishing legacy for the coming editions of Femina Miss India. Aditi is acknowledged as an eloquent personality, and for this sole reason, Julia Morley will not let her pass by without rewarding her contribution.
Winning the Miss World crown and Miss Universe crown in the same year has been an old tale at present, but you never know, pageants have seen many miracles! And if India would have its sixth Miss World crown on December 19 and third Miss Universe crown on December 20, India will rewrite the luxurious and gleaming history for the third time, the consequences of which will last for next decade, putting India back on the glorious pageantry map.