Sushmita Sen Wept in 1994 Miss India, Prahlad Kakkar Recalls

Ad film director Prahlad Kakkar recently shared a touching memory from the 1994 Miss India pageant, where Sushmita Sen was seen "weeping copiously." She believed the competition was rigged in favor of Aishwarya Rai, her fellow contestant.

Prahlad revealed, “One day, halfway through the competition, Sushmita was weeping in one corner of the changing room. Even though I was from a rival camp, I walked up to her. She said, ‘No, it’s all fixed. It’s all rigged. We don’t know what we are doing here.’ She felt Aishwarya, being a bigger model, would be declared the winner.”

Prahlad advised Sushmita to trust the judging process, especially Simone Tata’s role. Ultimately, the competition went to an additional question-and-answer round. Prahlad recounted, “Sushmita’s answer was far more confident and composed than Aishwarya’s, and she won the last round. It was touch and go. What an era it was.”

Despite her pageant success, Prahlad noted that Sushmita grew disenchanted with the film industry. “She became difficult to reach and put layers in front of her. She didn’t fully trust the industry, believing it was exploitative. For a single, good-looking woman, a career can be risky, and she protected herself,” he said.

Sushmita Sen was crowned Miss India 1994, with Aishwarya as the 1st runner-up, and later won Miss Universe. She debuted in films with Dastak (1996) and starred in hits like Biwi No.1 (1999), Sirf Tum (1999), Filhaal (2002), Aankhen (2002), Main Hoon Na (2004), and Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya (2005). After a hiatus, she returned with the drama series Aarya (2020).