Sushmita Sen Thought Miss India Was Fixed For Aishwarya Rai, But Aish Lost Due To 'Weak English'?

The Miss India 1994 contest will forever be remembered as one of the most historic Indian beauty pageants ever. Miss India 1994 not only gave the world two Indian beauties being crowned Miss Universe and Miss World, but also gave Indian cinema two of the most iconic divas, Sushmita Sen and Aishwarya Rai. Although both of them made India proud on the global stage, filmmaker Prahlad Kakkar revealed that before winning Miss India and going for Miss Universe, Sushmita was convinced that Aishwarya would win the crown. 

Prahlad Kakkar revealed that Sushmita Sen believed the Miss India contest was fixed in favour of Aishwarya Rai 

In an interview with Vickey Lalwani, Prahlad Kakkar, who had launched Aishwarya Rai in Pepsi ads, revealed that Sushmita Sen was disheartened with the belief that the Miss India contest was rigged in favour of the former. Prahlad said that since Sushmita was a 'nobody', meanwhile, Aishwarya was the 'Lakme girl' and a top model, the newcomer felt that a lot of attention was being paid to her. The filmmaker stated that he even saw Sushmita crying in the changing room over this and tried to dispel her doubts. Prahlad Kakkar shared: 

“I remember I gatecrashed the changing room and Sushmita was weeping in a corner. I asked her: ‘What’s the problem?’ She said: ‘It is all fixed. I will never win.’ I was like: ‘Are you stupid? Look at the jury. You think they are going to be fixed by anybody? Don’t be idiotic. Don’t fall for what people are saying. If you deserve it, you will get it because the jury is so powerful. You can’t buy them off.’ I asked her to go out and do her best. And she won. She remembered it and called me later for reassuring her.”

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Prahlad Kakkar claims that Aishwarya Rai lost Miss India due to not being fluent in English

Prahlad Kakkar stated that, contrary to what most reports claimed at the time, there was no rivalry between Aishwarya Rai and Sushmita Sen. However, the Devdas actress was quite upset after losing the Miss India crown to Sushmita. As per the filmmaker, the reason Sushmita won Miss India was because she was more polished and confident than Aishwarya. Prahlad also stated that due to her convent education, Sushmita performed better in the Q and A round, while Aishwarya wasn't as fluent in her English speaking skills. In the interview, Prahlad Kakkar was quoted as saying:

"There was no rivalry as such. The reality was that Aishwarya had just started her career, she was still raw, whereas Sushmita Sen was much more polished because she came from a convent school. That was not the case with Aishwarya Rai. So when there is a performance in English, people who are not good at that language are at a disadvantage. This is why Sushmita won in the question-answer round.”

Prahlad Kakkar further discussed his neighbour, Aishwarya's initial English-speaking skills. He revealed that her discomfort with the language was the reason she chose to give interviews in many other Indian languages but never in English. The filmmaker said:

“In the beginning of her career, she didn’t have the confidence to carry herself in English. She would interview in Tulu, Konkani and even Hindi but not English. So people thought she was stand-offish, but that was not the case. In reality, she was afraid.”

What are your thoughts on Aishwarya Rai not winning Miss India for reportedly not being fluent in English? 

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