Sushmita Sen Proud Of Lara, Pageants

   by S. Himabindu
HYDERABAD (IANSS)- When Lara Dutta was crowned Miss Universe in Nicosia on Saturday, it was deja vu for former beauty queen Sushmita Sen.
""I felt like I was back on the stage, every moment. I went six years back,"" said Sen, India's first Miss Universe who bagged the crown in 1994.
Asked why there were more Miss Worlds from India than Miss Universes, Sen told India Abroad News Service: ""After me, it's been a six-year gap. It's a more 'personality'-oriented competition when compared to Miss World. When I participated, there were three question rounds. This time it's two. More than looks, it's what you speak....That matters a lot here. So you need more attentiveness. To tell you the truth, if they give the crown only for beauty, I would not have been here.""
On criticism of beauty contests from some quarters, Sen, who is here shooting for Rama Naidu's Hindi film 'Aagaaj,' a remake of a Telugu film, felt a pageant contestant is not much different from a sports personality representing his or her country.
""I have heard many of such (critical) comments from feminists and other people. Of course, I don't want to get into that. While participating in such events, I felt like Sachin Tendulkar or any other cricketer who represents India....proud to represent one's own country.""
Behind India's success in international beauty pageants is a lot of hard work, the former Miss Universe said.
""One can't 'fix' beauty queens. If India has done well in this front, it deserves the credit. One can't cheat 500 million people who watch these kinds of shows. Look at Venezuela. They train the beauty queens for at least two years. If it's cheating, then there is no need for any hard work,"" she said."