India has produced many Miss Universe in the past. While Sushmita Sen remains iconic for becoming the first Indian woman to bag the crown, Lara Dutta charted history by becoming the highest ever scorer in the Miss Universe final answers round. She proved that intelligence is the most powerful crown a woman can wear.
When she joined the host on stage during the Miss Universe finals, Lara was asked three questions. The actor, who was just in her 20s at that time, scored 9.99/10, the highest ever in Miss Universe. The seven judges on the panel all gave her a score of approximately 9.
Lara Dutta’s iconic winning answer from Miss Universe
An Instagram page, The Crown Journal, shared a video of Lara’s final round in a January 29 post. During the final round, Lara Dutta was asked three questions. The first was related to her being from a family of pilots: “You’re from a family of pilots, but say your goal is to, you know, you want to jump from a plane. Are the pilots in your family that bad?” Well, not really. My father and my sister are both pilots, but I’ve clocked so many miles sitting behind the controls as a passenger that I guess it’s time I jump up. That’s something I’ve always wanted to do, skydive.”
The second question was, “India has had some very prominent female leaders. What makes women politicians different from men?” Lara replied intelligently that what makes women politicians different from men is a certain level of sensitivity.
“I think the women are very strong in India. They’re very well educated…and they’re standing shoulder-to-shoulder with their men and making a mark in their own field,” she added, to the cheers from the audience.
Lastly, the host asked her, since she is trained in classical Indian dance, if she could help him pronounce it and show a few steps. Not succumbing to pressure, she stated, “It’s called Bharatnatyam. I can’t do it in this gown because I need to squat to dance.”
She, then, went on to beautifully explain the dance, saying, “It’s about fitting into a universe which is square and your centre of gravity. Therefore, you squat. So, your centre of gravity is lower and a few steps. Well, it goes with your hands. This is Pataka, Tripataka, and that is Padma.”
About Lara Dutta’s Miss Universe win
Lara Dutta was the second Indian to win the Miss Universe crown. She was crowned by Mpule Kwelagobe, Miss Universe 1999 from Botswana. The pageant was held in the Elftheria Indoor Hall in Nicosia, Cyprus, on May 12, 2000. After Lara, Harnaaz Sandhu finally won the crown in 2021.
