India gloomed with pride 20 years ago when Lara Dutta who represented India at Miss Universe 2000 on 12th May 2000 at the Eleftheria Indoor Hall in Nicosia, Cyprus was crowned as the queen at the end of the event finale. This year marks Lara’s 20 years of being Miss Universe.
Web shows are on the rise like never, more and more Bollywood stars are jumping from the big screen and exploring opportunities in the digital world. After some leading men of Bollywood announced their foray into the streaming world lately, now several actresses also seem raring to go digital and hop on the bandwagon. And the latest actress to debut on the digital platform is Miss Universe 2000 Lara Dutta.
Lara Dutta debuts on a digital platform with her show, ‘Hundred’ and feels that with streaming platforms, quality content has found its way. The former Miss Universe said the process of coming on board for "Hundred" was very organic. Though she watches a lot of films and shows online, she never went out of her way to be in one, she stated.
She mentioned, "I love the medium. But I never actively went out saying I'm looking for a show, a role and to crossover. This happened completely organically. I have known Ruchi Narain, co-director of the show for many years now as a friend. She called me to ask if I can look at the show, completely out of the blue."
The diva went onto explain that with ‘Hundred’ she felt that she could sink in her teeth as an actor. Lara Dutta had a successful career in Bollywood but explained that most roles when it comes to women are pretty much one dimensional, but this was very different. She especially mentioned that she never had a woman director. So, when she heard the script, she said yes for the opportunity. Talking about the humor of the show, Lara expressed, “I have done humor before, but the tone of this show is very different, slightly sarcastic and dark. It was a great opportunity for me to do something new.”
Lara also spoke about the time when her reign as Miss Universe 2000 ended and she decided to take up acting. “Having won Miss India and Miss Universe, I wasn’t shy of hard work. I knew what it took to make it. So, from day one, I set different rules for myself. Even when I produced “ChaloDilli”, I was the first actress to do that. Today, we have so many like Deepika Padukone and Anushka Sharma producing their own films.”
The beauty queen who is known for her wisdom and mentoring young girls for Miss Universe pageant stated that in her career of more than 15 years, she feels that she has ‘just started having fun’. She concluded, "Now I'm actually able to live out the reason why I got into this business in the first place. I never stepped into Bollywood wanting to be a star. I wanted to be an actor. It’s very different Lara on the show and you can see I’m having so much fun.”
Lara Dutta has returned on-screen after a long time as she took a step back from her career because she wanted to devote her full attention to her daughter, Saira. She said that it was decided between her and husband, tennis player Mahesh Bhupathi, that one parent would always remain with their daughter.
She said that another reason why she took on fewer roles was because they sometimes just weren’t good enough. She said, “I was also seeking a metamorphosis in the kind of women characters being written and offered to me. It must make a difference or add value to lives. In addition, being a producer, an entrepreneur with my skincare line has kept me really busy because even those processes for me are things I am very hands-on about.”
The Hotstar Specials original also stars ‘Sairat’ fame Rinku Rajguru and television star Karan Wahi in the lead roles. Directed by Ruchi Narain, Ashutosh Shah and Taher Shabbir. It is an eight-episode comedy-action series chronicles the misadventures of two women of contrasting natures, set in the backdrop of Mumbai, its chawls and crime gangs.