The year 2000 marked a landmark moment in Indian pageantry, as all three Miss India finalists triumphed in international beauty contests. Lara Dutta was crowned Miss Universe, Priyanka Chopra clinched the Miss World title, and Dia Mirza completed the trio with the Miss Asia Pacific title. This unprecedented achievement naturally led to comparisons among the three women, and in a recent interview with ZOOM, Dia Mirza opened up about those early years and how each of them carved their own unique path in acting.
Reflecting on their differing beginnings, Dia highlighted how Priyanka Chopra was still a teenager when they competed, while she and Lara were already in their early 20s.
She told Zoom, "Priyanka still had some support from her parents, but Lara and I didn’t. Lara was already living here because she was modelling and she had opened her heart to me and shared her apartment, which was the size of a matchbox. I remember helping her pack for her Miss Universe and going away."
She went on to acknowledge Priyanka’s early success, saying, "Priyanka was just doing extraordinarily well, almost from the get-go. She had other battles to fight and deal with, and some of those intensified with time. But she was doing really well. I really had awe and respect for it. I remember thinking to myself, 'My God, if I was half the actress she is, how much further I would be able to go'."
Dia also reflected on the tough financial situation she and Lara found themselves in while living in Mumbai. "We (Lara and I) shared Wai Wai noodles because paise nahi the (we had no money). Lara and I modelled and saved that money. Neither of us used any money from our parents to do anything. Even in Priyanka's situation, she had solid support, and her parents were very involved, but with us, we just had what we had earned and saved. There'd be days when savings would run out, and payments would be due. We would be sitting in these expensive gowns coming back from fancy events and choosing Wai Wai because that’s all we could afford,” she reminisced.
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Despite struggling in the early years, Dia noted that eventually, Lara and Priyanka found acting success with films like Andaz, while she herself faced a longer journey. However, over time, each of them found their own space in the industry, and the comparisons between them gradually faded.
Dia Mirza was recently seen in the film Nadaaniyan, where she played the role of Ibrahim Ali Khan's mother. Despite the film's release on Netflix on March 7 receiving largely negative reviews, Dia's career continues to evolve in new directions.
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