Sushmita Sen and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan made India proud by winning the prestigious Miss Universe and Miss World titles in 1994. Before this achievement, they competed against each other at the Miss India pageant at home.
While Sushmita won the Miss India crown, Aishwarya was declared the first runner-up, following which they were sent to represent India at the Miss Universe and Miss World pageants in 1994.
Actor-model Ruby Bhatia, who was also a contestant at the Miss India 1994 pageant, recently revealed why the jury panel picked Sushmita over frontrunner Aishwarya, who was a known face in the modelling circuit at the time.
In a conversation with Bollywood Thikana, Ruby recalled a conversation she once had with Vimla Patil, the former editor of Femina magazine who served as one of the judges at the Miss India 1994 pageant.
According to Ruby, Aishwarya had apparently "slipped" while walking down the ramp during one of the rounds, something which she believed could have been the reason behind her loss to Sushmita.
"I asked her (Vimla Patil) why Aishwarya didn't win? because cause she slipped? So Vimlaji said, 'No, no, no. That's not the reason. That can happen to anybody'," she said.
Ruby said Vimla Patil told her that that the judges were looking for a contestant with specific qualities they could send to the Miss Universe pageant.
"She said that Miss Universe looks for an intelligent, smart woman of substance, a beauty, and Sushmita Sen fits that. That's why she went for Miss Universe. Miss World looks for a more dreamy, beautiful, feminine, diva woman, and that's why they selected Aishwarya... As a result-oriented approach so that they win the corresponding international titles," she recounted.
Earlier, Sushmita opened up about a major throwback moment she shared with Aishwarya during the Miss India 1994 competition. In an interview with Mashable India, she said, "Aishwarya has been not just the pin-up poster of beauty. At a time in the '90s, when I entered the modelling scene, she was 'it'".
"Then they tell me that she is competing in the same competition and I thought – 'Agle saal chalenge ya to uske baad chalenge. Is saal to chance hi nahi hai. [Let's go next year or maybe after that. There is no chance of winning this year.] Because my idea of what was ethereal was this beautiful woman."
Despite her initial doubts, Sushmita went on to win the Miss Universe title. In the same year, both women went on to etch their names in history as Sushmita became India's first Miss Universe and Aishwarya was crowned the Miss World, only the second India to win the title after Reita Faria in 1966.
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