Actor and beauty queen Lara Dutta turned 44 on Saturday. She rose to fame after winning the title of Miss Universe 2000. Let’s take a trip down memory lane and look at some of the finest answers given by the diva at beauty competitions that still ring true.
During the final question and answer round of Miss Universe 2000, the Top 3 contestants were asked,” Right now, there is a protest that has been staged outside the stadium posing pageants as an affront to women. Convince them that they are wrong” to which Dutta aptly replied by saying,” Pageants like Miss Universe gives us young women a platform to foray into the fields that we want to and forge ahead, be it entrepreneurship, be it the armed forces, be it politics. It gives us a platform to voice our choices and opinions, and makes us strong and independent that we are today.”
Her finalist interview score was the highest individual score in any category in the history of the Miss Universe contest, as her interview saw a majority of the judges giving her the maximum 9.99 marks. The answer won everyone’s heart and made her the second woman from India to have claimed the title after Sushmita Sen in 1994.
Lara is quick witted and has proved she is an eloquent speaker, time and time again. In question and answer segment of Femina Miss India 2000, Top 5 delegates were asked, “If you were a police officer in the Garden of Eden, who would you punish for the original sin: Adam, Eve, or the serpent?”
Dutta replied by stating, “If I was a policeman in the garden of Eden, I would take all three of them to court. Every person in life is faced with temptation, but you must be able to decide for yourself, make your own choices, and live by your own rules. Above all, fear God, because he is everywhere.”
After this round, there was a tie among contestants. To break the tie, contestants were again asked,” If ignorance is bliss, why do we seek knowledge?” Dutta yet again impressed the judges by her answer. Her answer was – “Knowledge is something every man is endowed with and it is up to him to make use of it. Thirst for knowledge drives every man. They say every man dies but very few men really lived. And what is life without knowledge. Would you go through life without passing something on to your children?”
This answer won her the national title. She was also the winner of Miss Intercontinental 1997 pageant. After a successful career in pageantry, Dutta forayed into Bollywood with 2003 film ‘Andaaz’. She won the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut for her role in Andaaz. Since then, Dutta has gone onto feature in many movies, shows and has made several talk show appearances. She was last seen in ZEE5’s comedy-drama ‘Kaun Banegi Shikharwati’.
We wish her a very happy birthday and success in all her endeavours!