Dia Mirza Reflects on Sisterhood and Female Friendships: From Rooming With Lara Dutta to Drawing Strength From Sushmita Sen!

The year 2000 served as a major turning point for Dia Mirza, who captured the Miss Asia Pacific title in the Philippines shortly after being named Miss India Asia Pacific. That same year saw #PriyankaChopraJonas and #LaraDuttaBhupati secure their respective global titles. Looking back on her pageant training days, Dia recently shared memories of moving to Mumbai and living with Lara Dutta, while also reflecting on the reassuring support and warmth she received from Sushmita Sen, India’s first Miss Universe.

“When I started out even before my training to be a Miss India, I hit it off really well with a lot of my fellow contestants,” says Dia Mirza and continues, “Lara Dutta just took me under her wing. I lived with her when I moved to Bombay. She was generous not just with her time and her attention, but also with her home. Sushmita Sen was another senior who was just really kind and gave me a lot of love and a sense of security.”

Further, Mirza also opened up about female friendships, revealing that she is inspired and drawn to women who are “really grounded in reality, who know what’s happening in the world, who are not living an escapist life, and who are not living in an illusion of their own making because it can happen.”

“You can get so caught up in the appearance and in the material that you forget to really interact with reality, and I think that’s essential, and it’s extremely attractive because it defines your authenticity. It helps you know what stories you really want to tell, and that’s the game changer. That’s what will define the choices you make, the kind of paths you take, or what kind of position you take in life,” she concludes.

From 2000 to today, Dia Mirza has come a long way. She dons the hat of an actor, producer, entrepreneur, investor, UNEP Goodwill Ambassador, UN Secretary-General’s Advocate for the Sustainable Development Goals, Ambassador for the Wildlife Trust of India, Artist Ambassador for Save the Children, Board Member of the Sanctuary Nature Foundation and Global Ambassador for the International Fund for Animal Welfare all that make her an influential personality with a purpose.

By Keerti Kadam