Dia
Mirza
looked
back
on
participating
in
the
Miss
India
pageant
20
years
ago
in
a
recent
interview.
She
recalled
how
she
was
spotted
by
a
model
coordinator
when
she
was
only
16,
and
went
on
to
participate
in
the
pageant
two
years
later.
She
also
shared
that
everyone
at
the
time
knew
Lara
Dutta
would
win
the
pageant.
In
an
interview
with
Times
of
India,
Dia
said
that
she
began
taking
modelling
assignments
and
travelling
from
Hyderabad
to
Bengaluru
at
the
age
of
16,
after
she
was
first
spotted.
She
also
revealed
that
she
hesitated
when
she
was
approached
to
participate
in
the
Miss
India
pageant.
"I
have
watched
such
contests
happening
but
had
never
participated
before.
There
were
girls
who
wanted
to
be
Miss
India
but
I
wasn't
one
of
them," she
said
and
continued,
"I
went
home
and
told
my
mum
that
I
want
to
participate
and
she
was
like,
'Are
you
crazy'?
My
father
convinced
her
to
let
me
participate.
According
to
him,
it
was
an
opportunity
for
me
to
learn
something
new."
Admitting
that
she
never
expected
to
win,
she
said,
"We
all
knew
that
Lara
Dutta
would
win.
She
was
everybody's
favourite.
She
was
more
experienced
than
any
of
us." Lara
became
Miss
India
2000
and
went
on
to
win
the
Miss
Universe
title,
whereas
Priyanka
won
Miss
World
and
Dia
was
named
Miss
Asia
Pacific
in
the
same
year.
The
actress
also
took
to
her
Instagram
handle
to
reflect
on
winning
the
Miss
Asia
Pacific
title.
She
shared
that
her
father
had
written
Robert
Frost's
Stopping
by
Woods
on
a
Snowy
Evening,
which
she
would
read
every
night
before
she
slept.
"Cannot
believe
it's
been
20
years
roughly
about
this
time
in
the
evening
that
i
won
the
title
of
Miss
Asia
Pacific
for
India!
So
grateful
to
every
single
person
that
has
contributed
to
my
growth,"
(sic)
Dia
wrote
in
her
caption.