Sushmita
Sen's serene beauty, lovely eyes, sensuous visage
and her long lustrous tresses have been hypnotizing
Indian audiences ever since she won the Miss
Universe crown in 1994. With a host of new movies
releasing, Ms. Sen, shows no sign of slowing
down. But it is not just her enchanting beauty
that makes Sushmita stand out, it also the facets
of her personality like her bold, uninhibited,
rock-star attitude. Adopting a daughter, being
forthright about love, and liberated lifestyle,
has made her a role model for both women and
men alike.
It is said that Sushmita was a mischievous tomboy when
she was a youngster. She used to hang out with
her school bullies, but all that is in the era
before she got accidentally sucked into the
profession of modeling. It was Aishwarya Rai
who inspired Sushmita to enter the Miss Universe
contest, where Sushmita created history by becoming
the first South-East Asian Miss Universe. After
being crowned the most beautiful woman in the
universe made it somewhat inevitable that a
rocking Bollywood career would follow. She made
her debut in Tamil film Ratchakan, where she
starred opposite Nagarjuna.
Her foray into the world of Hindi films happened with
the film Dastak, directed by Mahesh Bhatt. In
the film she starred as a Miss Universe. About
her experience in working in Dastak, she says,
"Once upon a time I thought acting was
the easiest job. But at the sets of Dastak I
learned how tough it is. It requires an amazing
amount of talent and lots of hard work and is
quite painstaking. You have to give a number
of expressions. Being a perfectionist, I used
to get very frustrated when things wouldn't
work out my way. I am grateful that there was
a Mahesh Bhatt who could come to my rescue and
help me make it all work. At times he would
even allow me to do things my own way."
It is obvious that Sushmita is a quick learner. Her
performance in David Dhawan's movie Biwi No.
1 won her the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress
Award in 1999. But it is her role in Main Hoon
Na (2004) in which she starred as Shah Rukh's
love interest that became her biggest hit. In
2005, she starred in a remake of Cactus Flower,
called Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya: Sen played the
lead opposite Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif and
essayed the role of Ingrid Bergman. Her most
recent movies include Chingaari (2005) as a
prostitute, Gulel (2006) and Hollywood film
Karma, Confessions and Holi (2006) opposite
Drena DeNiro and Naomi Campbell.
There is no end to the handsome men Sushmita has
been associated with - from Vikram Bhatt, Ranjeet Hooda,
Salman Khan, Ajay Devgun, Jeh Wadia to Bobby Deol. S
ushmita herself is quite cool about her liberated lifestyle.
When questioned about her relationships she laughs and says,
"Oh, yes I am open to relationships with a man who catches
my fancy. And yes, I think of myself as a sexual person.
But it is not as if I yearn to see sensual stimuli
virtually wherever I look." When asked how she would
define sex, she is excitingly didactic, "Sex to me is a
means of giving and receiving pleasure. Something that
satisfies physical or emotional desire, relives tension,
something that makes you feel wanted."
