Beauty pageants in India now seem to invariably be a stepping stone to Bollywood. It's mostly just a matter of time before the latest Miss India is making her big screen debut. With the 2009 Miss India Pooja Chopra being thrust upon us this Friday with Commando, here's a look at the debut films of beauty queens.
Pooja Chopra
We've glimpsed Pooja Chopra in movies like Fashion and Heroine, but she steps into Hindi cinema with this week's release, Commando. It remains to be seen how she does, but based on this bold interview she gave Rediff.com, it's clear that the actress isn't lacking in confidence.
Sushmita Sen
Sush made her Bollywood debut in 1996 with Dastak, opposite Mukul Dev, with Sharad Kapoor stalking her. The film wasn't a hit but Sen acquitted herself well in the role, managing both hysteria and hotness as the film demanded.
Aishwarya Rai
Rai's first film was Mani Ratnam's lauded (and initially misunderstood) Iruvar, but after pushing herself in Tamil cinema, she made her Bollywood entry rather damply. 1997's Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya, pitting her opposite Bobby Deol, showed off Ash's weakest side.
Lara Dutta
Dutta's debut came in 2003's Andaaz, a high-profile release with Akshay Kumar and Priyanka Chopra. The Raj Kanwar film was a huge hit and Dutta immediately made a mark with both critics and audiences: the actress shared the Best Female Newcomer award with co-star Priyanka at the Filmfares that year.
Priyanka Chopra
Chopra might have won the award but that very year, months before Andaaz came out, she made her Hindi film debut with Hero: Love Story Of A Spy, a ghastly film involving Sunny Deol. Chopra looked good and the film made money, but it was her second film that immediately raised her profile.
Yukta Mookhey
The statuesque Yukta made her screen debut with Pyaasa, a 2002 debacle that shared its name — but little else — with the Guru Dutt classic. This one starred Aftab Shivdasani. Mookhey looked hot but the film tanked, taking her acting career with it.
Celina Jaitley
Celina stepped into Hindi cinema with the late Feroz Khan's 2003 disaster, Janasheen. Jaitley played to her strengths — prancing about in skimpy swimwear, mostly — but the film couldn't make any sort of an impact, and couldn't even disguise her acting inexperience.
Dia Mirza
Mirza's movie debut came with Rehnaa Hai Tere Dil Mein, opposite R Madhavan, a 2001 Gautham Menon film that might not have grossed millions on its release but remains a very well-liked film and one that is frequently shown on TV. She looked striking and played innocent, and it was as fine a debut as could be expected.
Gul Panag
Panag made her debut with Ashwini Chaudhary's 2003 film, Dhoop, which dealt with the true story of the death of Army officer Captain Anuj Nayyar. Panag brought adequate restraint to her role and played it subtly enough, showing great promise for a model-turned-actress.
Diana Hayden
The striking Diana Hayden debuted with a small role in Khalid Mohammad's Tehzeeb in 2003, before going on to a prominent role in Ab Bas, a 2004 film by Rajesh Kumar Singh. The film flopped badly, and Hayden — as if scarred or disinterested by Bollywood — didn't take another stab at Hindi cinema.
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