‘We
went
on
to
make
history
that
year
by
winning
all
3
international
titles.’
Priyanka
Chopra,
Lara
Dutta
and
Dia
Mirza.
Photograph:
Kind
courtesy
Dia
Mirza/Instagram
It’s
been
25
years
since
Dia
Mirza,
Lara
Dutta
and
Priyanka
Chopra
won
the
Femina
Miss
India
Contest.
‘Throwing
it
back
to
the
beginning
of
a
new
millennium.
15th
of
January
2000.
The
Femina
Miss
India
Contest
was
a
truly
grand
spectacle!
We
had
the
most
amazing
women
participating
from
across
the
country.
Each
of
them
has
gone
on
to
create
their
own
unique
story,’
Dia
writes.
‘We
had
the
most
iconic
judges
—
Shah
Rukh
Khan,
Juhi
Chawla,
Anjolie
Ela
Menon,
Carolina
Harera,
Marcus
Swarovski,
Pritish
Nandy
and
Saurav
Ganguly.
‘The
beautiful
Malaika
Arora
and
Rahul
Khanna
hosted
the
event.
‘A
spectacular
set
was
designed
by
Omung
Kumar.
‘Hemant
Trivedi
and
Nayanika
Chatterjee
mentored
us
and
choreographed
the
show.
‘Bharat
And
Doris
Godambe
did
our
hair
and
make
up.
‘Pradeep
Guha
and
Satya
Saran
ensured
each
of
us
received
the
training
necessary
to
help
us
shine
in
our
individual
light.
‘All
the
previous
winners
descended
on
stage
and
made
our
winning
moments
even
more
special.’
Lara
Dutta,
Dia
Mirza,
Priyanka
Chopra
with
Shah
Rukh
Khan.
Photograph:
Kind
courtesy
Dia
Mirza/Instagram
She
adds,
‘The
photoshoot
with
Shah
Rukh
Khan
right
after
our
win
happened
backstage.
What
a
moment
of
wonderment
for
a
completely
awestruck
Hyderabadi
who
grew
up
adoring
him
with
all
my
heart!
The
cover
shot
is
evidence.
‘The
final
question
that
lead
to
the
win
for
Lara,
Priyanka
and
me
was
“If
you
were
the
policeman
in
the
garden
of
Eden,
who
would
you
punish
for
the
first
sin.
Adam,
Eve
or
the
serpent?”
‘My
answer
was
unusual,
I
have
no
idea
how
I
even
thought
of
it
with
a
one
minute
timer
ticking
loudly
as
we
framed
our
responses
and
wrote
them
down.
‘I
think
I
said,
“I
would
not
punish
any
of
them.
For
if
they
had
not
sinned,
we
would
not
be
on
this
Earth
today.”
‘What
answer
would
you
have
given?’
Sushmita
Sen,
Priyanka
Chopra,
Lara
Dutta,
Yukta
Mookhey,
Dia
Hayden,
Aishwarya
Rai.
Photograph:
Kind
courtesy
Dia
Mirza/Instagram
‘Time
flies.
Each
of
us
has
evolved
and
found
our
own
way
of
making
sense
of
our
time
on
Earth.
We
have
lost
some
people
who
were
a
part
of
this
life
changing
moment..
but
their
influence
and
impact
has
surely
shaped
our
lives,’
she
adds.
‘It’s
been
25
years
since
this
paradigm
shift.
And
I
am
grateful
for
it.
‘Thank
you
@timesofindia
@feminaindia
‘@larabhupathi
@priyankachopra
I
love
and
admire
you
both.
We
went
on
to
make
history
that
year
by
winning
all
3
international
titles.’
Photographs
curated
by
Satish
Bodas/Rediff.com
