Sushmita Sen: Flying Encounter.

By Fuad Omar.

Asiangigs yaps with Sushmita Sen, taking a flashback journey from when she entered the Miss Universe pageant, arrived into the Indian film industry which allowed her to reach people in a new way, and a few questions on her latest big screen role.

Fasten your seatbelts: Destination Anywhere

Ex Miss Universe Sushmita Sen is a celebrity every Asian is proud of. She gained international recognition as the youngest Ms Universe at the tender age of 18, and became an ambassador for India representing Indians to the world. While her role as a prominent figure involved numerous charity work that comes with the prestigious title. After she retired from the position a year later, her passion to help people continued to grow.

Recent years have seen the phenomenal young beauty go from supermodel to screen actress in the dream land of Bollywood, but few know of her commitment to helping those less fortunate than her.

Sushmita is someone who has always had her feet firmly planted on the ground and be it her accessibility to fans, her keenness to talk about her films or whatever opportunity she gets to speak out for worthy causes, she does so whenever possible. Her rise in Bollywood is also meteoric. From Dastak to Biwi No.1 may have been a journey of few films, but was a well travelled long road which she used to improve on each film and attain a position to be reckoned with. She is now an eternal superstar whose name alone adds prestige to a project, and the recent reactions to Bas Itna Sa Khawaab Hai prove that, although the film has received mixed responses, one comment is unanimous: Sushmita has done a good job and looks amazing. Her one song in Fiza became the song of the year on many countdown shows and her presence continues to generate electricity, because of her selectivity in roles which bring her to the big screen. She continues her charity work and supports various groups, one of which is the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, for whom she came down a few years ago to promote awareness of the fatal illness and continues to support the organisation today.

Her mini tour of the UK then was not a star studded musical event as one would expect, but a low key, yet high profile exercise in creating awareness about an illness which has yet to find a cure. Her conferences in London, Bradford, Leicester and Birmingham raised funds for the Imperial Cancer Research Fund and other cancer charities, and the response has been one only she could bring. She still remains actively involved in many worthy causes, and so as well as tracing her journey back to when she started into the glamour world, we also present the charitable side of Sushmita Sen, many rarely see.

Now, Sushmita Sen has come a long way since her career began. From ex-Miss Universe to supermodel to top actress, now she has achieved a position from where she can make a difference and bring joy to many because of her high profile celebrity status.
"If through being a well-recognised personality you can bring someone happiness, it's a very good feeling. Just by meeting someone or highlighting an issue I can make an impression, and it is God's blessings."
Throughout the interview one thing has come through: Sushmita Sen is a very humble and spiritual person. She constantly utters the words "Inshallah" (God-willing) and "God's blessings", making it impossible to have a conversation with her without remembering God, who she feels eternally grateful to and is very mindful of.
"My cousin Peeku and I, used to go outside Hajji Ali's place, in Bombay, and sit on the pavement and I used to wish 'Just once please get me up there into the pageant, I don't mind if I don't win, but just get me there in the top 10 so the world can see me' and it was God's Grace that in May 1994 I represented India in the Miss Universe pageant," she recalls smiling. "And I don't know how but I won it! Out of 88 girls who were all marvellous, I won it!" she says enthralled, and full of laughter.

"I am from a lower middle class and a conservative family where I wasn't allowed out after 8pm. If I was staying at a friends house I'd have to leave the number, etc. I started to realise whatever my parents do, they do because they love you me much. At the age of 15 I saw people on television and decided I wanted to be famous. I used to watch Miss India and tell my daddy, 'If I was in her place I'd answer it like this' and he used to be like 'Haan, aisi to baith kur sab ko baaten karna aata hain, kuch karkey dikhao' and I took that as a challenge."

"At the age of 17 I was at a function and this gentleman came up to me and said 'Aapko Miss India join karna chahiye', and I was like, 'haan, haan, zaroor'! Then he said he was serious, so I went the next morning to the Times of India office and filled in the form. I cried so much that night because I thought that was the biggest disaster of my life and that so many people would see me because it is televised, and thought 'agar log mujhe pasand karenge to kya hoga, log nahin pasand krenge to kya hoga', and then I reached the Miss India finals in 1994. And it was after winning this title I went for Ms Universe," she recalls with a glow in her eyes.

"I hope to utilise the platform God has given me for causes that can do with my support. I have worked for many charities in the past and I don't want to say I am working specifically for one or the other. It is true that during the UK visit I was there for Cancer Research, but for me to even make a statement would be wrong, because like many people I was ignorant about cancer. I came to help create awareness and get people to support the Imperial Cancer Research Fund and such charities for the work that they do."

Moving onto her career, I ask about her character in Bas Itna Sa Khwaab Hai, and have the expectations of her increasing success made her uneasy or nervous of her future releases?
"In every creative person's life one is always proving a point. In this business you are constantly proving a point, you could have 10 hit films and all eyes are on the 11th film to see if it does well, and if it doesn't they (the media) will say 'Arrey, ye nahin chali!' so you are always proving a point," she reasons.

What is your character like in Bas Itna Sa..and how has the film shaped up? "Bas Itna Sa Khwaab Hai is a dream film. It is Goldie Behl's dream. It's a khwaab. I relate a lot with Lara Oberoi in the film. Sometimes I see a lot of her in me and there are times when I want to be like her. She's a modern woman in a man's world. She's a fantastic character. You have to see the film to know what I'm talking about."

Sushmita is paired opposite Abhishek for the first time in her career and has found a mutual fan in the junior Bachchan who is also full of praises for her.
"He's done a fantastic job in the film. Abhishek is a very nice person. And he's fun to work with. He's very well behaved. He's known Goldie since he was a kid, so it's an added advantage. It makes for a very comfortable working scenario. Come to think of it, I've worked with Bachchan junior in Bas Itna Sa... and I'm working with Bachchan senior in Vipul Shah's All The Best. Who else is left?"
Who else indeed?
With that we end our brief encounter and return to the world, feeling I've brushed with greatness as only Sushmita can make one feel!