'We went on to make history that year by winning all 3 international titles.'
It's been 25 years since Dia Mirza, Lara Dutta and Priyanka Chopra won the Femina Miss India Contest.
'Throwing it back to the beginning of a new millennium. 15th of January 2000. The Femina Miss India Contest was a truly grand spectacle! We had the most amazing women participating from across the country. Each of them has gone on to create their own unique story,' Dia writes.
'We had the most iconic judges -- Shah Rukh Khan, Juhi Chawla, Anjolie Ela Menon, Carolina Harera, Marcus Swarovski, Pritish Nandy and Saurav Ganguly.
'The beautiful Malaika Arora and Rahul Khanna hosted the event.
'A spectacular set was designed by Omung Kumar.
'Hemant Trivedi and Nayanika Chatterjee mentored us and choreographed the show.
'Bharat And Doris Godambe did our hair and make up.
'Pradeep Guha and Satya Saran ensured each of us received the training necessary to help us shine in our individual light.
'All the previous winners descended on stage and made our winning moments even more special.'
She adds, 'The photoshoot with Shah Rukh Khan right after our win happened backstage. What a moment of wonderment for a completely awestruck Hyderabadi who grew up adoring him with all my heart! The cover shot is evidence.
'The final question that lead to the win for Lara, Priyanka and me was "If you were the policeman in the garden of Eden, who would you punish for the first sin. Adam, Eve or the serpent?"
'My answer was unusual, I have no idea how I even thought of it with a one minute timer ticking loudly as we framed our responses and wrote them down.
'I think I said, "I would not punish any of them. For if they had not sinned, we would not be on this Earth today."
'What answer would you have given?'
'Time flies. Each of us has evolved and found our own way of making sense of our time on Earth. We have lost some people who were a part of this life changing moment.. but their influence and impact has surely shaped our lives,' she adds.
'It's been 25 years since this paradigm shift. And I am grateful for it.
'Thank you @timesofindia @feminaindia '@larabhupathi @priyankachopra I love and admire you both. We went on to make history that year by winning all 3 international titles.'
Photographs curated by Satish Bodas/Rediff.com
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