Bollywood Diva- Sushmita Sen

By: Sharon Supriya

She is a traveler, scared of destiny, but walks with ambition and faith to win whatever comes her way. She dreams to make the world beautiful around her, so that the world remembers her even when the limelight is lost and she is destined to darkness. She is Sushmita Sen, the Bollywood diva.

Sush as a child and a teenager:
Her friends and family call her Titu and Sush. As a child she wanted to be air hostess, unless and until she saw how hard they had to slog, she changed the plan. Then she dreamed to follow the footsteps of her father, and aimed to be a pilot. But destiny had something else in store for her. She didn't decide, it just happened. She was destined to conquer the world of beauty and glamour.

As a teenager she was complete tomboy and hanged out with her school Dada's. She never dreamt of modeling, because her father was an orthodox. It all started when she was 15 and was doing summer jobs in Delhi for Euroclean (vacuum cleaners). She wasn't happy with it but was doing it for her pocket money. Then she met her friend Jyothi who was planning to get into modeling and insisted her to join. The expedition started then. She could convince her mother, who was very supportive, and clicked some pictures for her portfolio, where her mother made a point to see that she was totally covered. The father did agree, after he was convinced that his daughter was safe.

Sush as Miss-universe:
Her first attempt like any other model was Miss India contest. She taught to quit at the sight of Aishwarya Rai in the contest. But Mrs. Sen was there for all the support, she encouraged her to fight and then loose rather than quitting it by fear. She did win the contest and was crowned Miss India. Her next platform in the journey was Miss Universe. She was the first Asian woman to win this title.

Sush as an actor:
She entered the film industry as the tradition of all beauty queens. But this route was not easy in the beginning. Her first debut was in Tamil movie Ratchakan, which was a huge flop. Her successive movie Dastak also didn't do well. She was recognized and applauded after David Dhawan's movie Biwi No. 1, which even fetched her the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award.

Her acting skills may not be recognized, but she is known for her dancing skills, though she has never been trained to be one. She dares to venture into things, which many actresses would not like to try. She has played a role of a humble wife, in Kyokii... Main Jhuth Nahin Bolta to a revengeful prostitute in, Chingaari. She wants to be a part of every section in the spotlight.

Sush as an artist:
Not many of then know that Sush is also a remarkable writer, and a painter too. One of her painting fetched $50,000 at an auction in Dubai. The money went to Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research center in Pakistan. Her recent painting was the face of Goddess Kali at an art exhibition. She is now penning her thought for her autobiography. She has been writing poems since adolescence.

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