18 November,2023 08:30 AM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Sushmita Sen
Sushmita Sen made history when she won 'Miss Universe' in 1994. No one had ever brought home the title in India before. Sushmita Sen, almost overnight, went from being an 'ordinary girl' from an 'ordinary' family to becoming Sushmita Sen - the ultimate woman, a role model to millions of girls all over the world.
The actress' journey to the crown was not an easy one. In an exclusive chat with Mid-day's 'Sit With Hitlist' segment, Sushmita Sen unravelled the journey to becoming Miss Universe. She explained the profound impact of her win on her family and the surprising cultural imprint she left in the Philippines.
Recalling her humble beginnings and her family's apprehension about her entry into Miss India, Sushmita revealed, "When the bomb was dropped on my dad that she was going to enter Miss India, my father didn't speak to me for a bit because it was like crashing down, and I remember having this very emotional moment with my father."
She promised her father that while participating, she would maintain dignity, saying, "It won't be crass. I will do it as dignified, but, baba, I can't compete in a competition where everyone does one thing and I don't do it. Then there is no way to compete. So he was not very happy with that."
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Everything changed when Sushmita Sen bagged the Miss India title and began preparing to represent her country at Miss Universe. "I remember looking at my dad's face and thinking, suddenly I had given him the biggest moment of his life. She was a daughter that he always believed in," she noted.
However, the moment Sushmita Sen won the Miss Universe crown in the Philippines truly took the cake. The 'Main Hoon Na' actress revealed that her mother, in a cruel twist of fate, missed her crowning moment. "She missed me winning Miss India; she missed the moment where I won Miss Universe because all the Philippinos had surrounded her," she added.
Her victory cemented a legacy for India but also left a mark on the people of the Philippines. Sushmita revealed that there are girls in the country named after the actress!
"There are 22, 23-year-old girls called Sushmita Sushmita Chagalung Mang and Sushmita Sen Chagalung Mang. This name is a Filipino name now," she revealed, astonished by the extent of her own stature and influence.
Sushmita recounted an incident where she met Filipino girls named after her during an interview with Jessica Soho, a respected anchor in the Philippines. "She brought them out from different islands of the Philippines to make me meet them; they were all named after me," Sushmita shared, truly floored while recalling the incredible connection she managed to foster with the people of the country.
However, that feeling of love that the people of the Philippines truly felt for her had not set in until she made her return in 2018 to judge Miss Universe. "When they announced my presence there, I had to be given presidential security because of the amount of people," she expressed, humbled by the overwhelming reception.
