Actor Lara Dutta turned 44 on Saturday. Lara rose to fame after she won the title of Miss Universe in 2000. It was the second time in the history of the beauty pageant that an Indian participant had won the title, the first being Sushmita Sen in 1994. But did you know that during the final question-answer round of the contest, Lara was asked to convince people protesting against the pageant outside the venue. Also Read: Lara Dutta recalls rejecting The Matrix role in 2001 to take care of ailing mother: It was a tough time
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In 2000, during the Miss Universe contest, protests were being carried out in Cyprus, with protesters alleging that the event was disrespectful towards women. Based on these protests, all three finalists, Lara from India, Claudia Moreno from Venezuela, and Spain's Helen Lindes were asked: “Right now there is a protest going on right outside here calling the Miss Universe Pageant disrespectful of women. Convince them they are wrong."
Answering the question with confidence, Lara said, "I think pageants like the Miss Universe pageant give us young women a platform to foray in the fields that we want to and forge ahead, be it entrepreneurship, be it the armed force, be it politics. It gives us a platform to voice our choices and opinions and makes us strong, independent that we are today." Lara's answer impressed the judges which was followed by her being crowned the Miss Universe 2000.
Lara made her Bollywood debut with Andaaz, alongside Priyanka Chopra, who was crowned Miss World in 2000 as well, and Akshay Kumar. She later appeared in films such as Bhagam Bhag, Kaal, Partner, Chalo Dilli and the Don series. She made her comeback with the Disney+ Hotstar web-series Hundred in 2020. She was later seen in Hiccups And Hookups, which also starred Prateik Babbar and Shinnova. Her last project was Kaun Banegi Shikharwati, which was released on Disney+ Hotstar in January.
{{/usCountry}}Lara made her Bollywood debut with Andaaz, alongside Priyanka Chopra, who was crowned Miss World in 2000 as well, and Akshay Kumar. She later appeared in films such as Bhagam Bhag, Kaal, Partner, Chalo Dilli and the Don series. She made her comeback with the Disney+ Hotstar web-series Hundred in 2020. She was later seen in Hiccups And Hookups, which also starred Prateik Babbar and Shinnova. Her last project was Kaun Banegi Shikharwati, which was released on Disney+ Hotstar in January.
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