Former Miss Universe and mentor for the Miss Diva 2015 contestatnts, Lara Dutta has some detailed anecdotes on the contestants this year. She believes that the contestants are little too prepared these days. Lara is hosting and mentoring the contestants for Miss Diva 2015. “I think girls today come a little too prepared and rehearsed having seen past pageants and contests. One needs to constantly be in the process of discovering themselves right through the entire process rather than just focusing on the title and impressing someone else.”

What Lara also feels is that, the young aspirants these days are focussing more towards getting into movies and not really targeting at winning the pageants. She believes that girls these days, do not come with the enthusiasm and passion to represent their nation at an international platform of Miss Universe, or for that matter any international beauty pageant. “Winning the title will give you the exposure and the access to Bollywood but that’s not why you participate and train. Winning an international title and being a representative for your country is a completely different endeavour that the girls need to focus on,” says Lara.

The former Miss Universe says that they are looking for a complete package who could represent India from all fronts – beauty, grace, individualism and original opinion. She believes woman holds strong opinion and voice today compared to past. “Women are now in a far stronger space from an expression point of view. Who they are is being showcased through their fashion. Also the growing economic independence has helped women explore what works for them and find their own fashion voice,” concluded Lara.