Five Indian Beauty Pageant Winners Who Made It Big In Bollywood

The 21-year-old Harnaaz Sandhu won the Miss Universe title for India exactly after 21 years of Lara Dutta winning the same title.

Indians worldwide are elated with her performance in the contest and the Punjab girl announced her victory with - "Chak de Phatte India" in a short clip that is going viral on the Internet. The results were announced at the event on December 12, 2o21 at Universal Dome, Eliat, of Israel. It's been no surprise that many beauty pageant winner have made a name for themselves in Bollywood.

Here is the list of 5 Indian Beauty Pageant Winners Who Made It Big:

1. Aishwarya Rai:

Aishwarya is a household name known for her talent, her fashion sense and the value she brings to India through the cultural representation around the world- be it unfurling national flag in Australia, or posing for Indian fashion brand in Paris or walking the red carpet in Indian saree at Cannes.

Aishwarya made her fame to cinema with her debut movie Iruvar directed by Mani Ratnam and first Hindi Debut with Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya in the same year. However, she came into prominence with Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam which won her Filmfare's Best female actor award. Later, her performances in Devdas, Jodha Akbar, Guzarish, Jazbaa were all well appreciated for her excellent acting skills. Aishwarya won the Miss World Pageant in 1994.

2. Priyanka Chopra: 

Having won the Miss World title in year 2000, Priyanka Chopra has made her mark both in Hollywood as well as Bollywood. Priyanka, started her career in Bollywood with her first film starring Akshay Kumar and Lara Dutta, Andaaz, which turned out to be blockbuster winning her best debut award in Filmfare.

Priyanka has won National Award for her performances twice, Fashion and Paani. Her much loved works include her roles in Bajirao Mastani, Agneepath, Mary Kom, Barfi, Dil Dhadakne Do, The Sky is Pink among many. She has always been upfront with the biasness she had to face in society due to her skin colour. Chopra was awarded with Padma Shri by Government of India for her contribution to the field of arts in 2016.

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3. Sushmita Sen:

Sushmita's fiery and gutsy character in Aarya is something all her fans have been enjoying lately. Sen was the first Indian to win Miss Universe title in 1994.

Having made her debut with Dastak in 1996, she won the Best Supporting Actor (Female) award for her comedy movie Biwi No 1 and is well known for her crafts in Sirf Tum, Fuza, Main Hoon Na, Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya. Her recent OTT performance in Aarya is well loved by her fans. She is proud mother of two girls she adopted in her 20s.

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4. Dia Mirza:

Mirza won hearts after she was starred in Rehna Hai Tere Dil Main opposite R. Madhavan and Saif Ali Khan. This year the movie completed the 20 years and Dia thanked her fans for showering her with love and support all these years. The Miss Asia Pacific International in year 2000.

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Being an advocate against climate change, she is ambassador to various United Nations Agencies. Dia is well known for her works in movies like Dus, Parineeta, Lage Raho Munnabhai, Sanju, and latest one being Thappad. Her recent marriage with husband Vaibhav Rekhi broke many stereotypes in wedding ceremony, which was hailed by people all around.

5. Zeenat Aman:

She won Miss Asia Pacific International in 1970. She made her mark in Bollywood by starring together with superstars of that time like Amitabh Bachchan, Rajesh Khanna, Vinod Khanna and many more.

Her major performances include ones in movies like Hare Rama Hare Krishna, Yaadon Ki Baaraat, Dharamveer, Satyam Shivam Sundaram, Don, Dostana and many others. Her contribution to Hindi cinema also won her the award of Lifetime Achievement in 2008. Her most recent appearance was seen in a short and powerful role of Sakina Begum in Ashutosh Gowarikar's Panipat movie in 2019. She is to play the lead role in murder mystery Margaon, which will be tribute to Agatha Christie.