India’s Manushi Chhillar on Saturday did her country proud as she walked away with the coveted Miss World 2017 title at a glittering event in the beachfront city of Sanya, China.
The win ended 17 years of drought for India at the international pageant, with Chhillar becoming the sixth Indian to win the title and the first since Priyanka Chopra won the crown in 2000.
“The feeling is still sinking in and I am very excited to make India proud too. I’m also looking forward to the year ahead,” Chhillar said in a statement after the win.
As a year of official Miss World commitments, and a possible entry into Bollywood opens up for the 21-year-old, Gulf News tabloid! looks beyond the bright lights to look at Chhillar’s journey from a small-town girl from the Indian state of Haryana to a household name in the blink of an eye.
Small-town girl
The world first took notice of Chhillar as she won the Femina Miss India title, earning fame as a medical student from the Indian state of Haryana who was looking to represent her country on a global platform.
According to her bio, Chhillar did her schooling in New Delhi, opting to return to Haryana to attain her medical degree; she wants to be a cardiac surgeon, hoping to follow in the footsteps of her parents who are also doctors.
During her Miss India run, she was quoted in the media as saying that she would like to open a chain of non-profitable hospitals based in rural areas. Interestingly, the state of Haryana was once ranked the worst among all states in sex ratio in India.
Chhillar has also been quoted as saying that she grew up idolising Reita Faria, the first Indian woman to win the Miss World beauty pageant in 1966. Although, her mother has been a fan of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who also won the Miss World title in 1994.
Winning question
At the 67th edition of the Miss World pageant, Chhillar was competing against 107 other title holders competed from across the globe.
Post her win, Chhillar stated she was always confident about winning the crown, dedicating her win to India.
Ahead of being crowned by Miss World 2016 winner Puerto Rico’s Stephanie Del Valle, the deciding round came down to the question and answer segment where the top five shortlisted contestants have to compete.
Chhillar was asked: “Which profession deserves the highest salary and why?”
She replied: “I think a mother is of highest respect. I don’t think it’s just about cash but love and respect she gives to someone. She is the biggest inspiration in my life. Mother should get the highest respect.”
Following her win, Chhillar had more to say about her response, stating: “My parents have always been my pillar of support and having them here tonight by my side has only brought me more strength and joy. My final answer also came to me by having them here with me in front of me.”
He parents, along with her brother and sister, were present at the gala that also saw Miss Mexico Andrea Meza win the first runner up, while Miss England Stephanie Hill was declared the second runner up.
Beauty with a purpose
Aside from the Miss World title now attached to her name, Chhillar was also handed the ‘Beauty With A Purpose’ (BWAP) title at the pageant.
A registered charity and a non-profit entity, BWAP works with the Miss World organisation to raise funds for humanitarian projects across the globe.
Chhillar’s project on feminine hygiene titled Project Shakti emerged on the shortlist on Saturday night. For the initiative, Chhillar visited 20 villages across India to help make a difference in the lives of 5,000 women.
Speaking to the media before her win, Chhillar spoke about her project, saying: “I feel it is a very basic factor that is inculcated in every woman. I started a project called Project Shakti and through that I educated women about menstrual hygiene as that’s one cause I really feel for.”
FORMER MISS WORLD TITLE HOLDERS FROM INDIA
Reita Faria (1966)
The first woman from Asia to ever win the Miss World title in 1966. Following her year of pageant commitments, Faria shunned the world of glamour and went on to study medicine. She married David Powell in 1971 and now lives in Ireland. Interestingly, Manushi Chhillar cites Faria as he inspiration.
Aishwarya Rai (1994)
While years later, people said that Aishwarya Rai (now Bachchan) was always a shoo-in to win the coveted title, the 21-year-old did face stiff competition from 86 countries when the 1994 Miss World pageant was held in Sun City, South Africa. For her final question, she had judge and actress Katherine Kelly Lang ask: “What qualities should Miss World 1994 embody?” Rai’s winning response was: “The Miss Worlds that we have had up to date, have been proof enough that they have had compassion. Compassion for the underprivileged, and not only for the people who have status and stature. We have had people, who can look beyond the barriers that man has set up — of nationalities and colour. We have to look beyond those and that would make a true Miss World. A true person. A real person.”
Diana Hayden (1997)
Winning the title in 1997, Diana Hayden won several awards at the Miss World pageant that year, including the swimsuit round and Miss Photogenic. In the final question and answer round, Hayden quoted WB Yeats, saying: “In what I believe in, tonight I would like to draw an inspiration from the once and great poetic WB Yeats’s quotes ‘in dream begins responsibility’ For me, this title is my dream and the responsibility it brings will cherish and in some ways help the dreams of others.”
Yukta Mookhey (1999)
With two big Indian wins behind her, Yukta Mookhey went on to win the Miss World title in 1999. She called it the ‘best day of her life’ adding: “I had this as a beautiful dream as a child and now it’s come true.” During the question and answer round, Mookhey stated that she would like to have been born as Hollywood film star Audrey Hepburn, whom she admired for her “inner beauty, compassion and great aura.”
Priyanka Chopra (2000)
After Aishwarya Rai’s win in 1994, Priyanka Chopra emerged as the most popular Miss World title holder from India, going on to carve a successful career for herself in Bollywood and now, Hollywood. Interestingly, Chopra committed a faux pax during the question and answer round. When she was first asked which living person she admired the most, Chopra named Mother Teresa. It was just unfortunate as the humanitarian had died three years before the pageant.
However, Chopra recovered when she was later asked another question, this time by Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan. He asked her at the time: “Who would you rather marry: A great Indian sportsman with all the records in Indian cricket like Azhar bhai (former Indian skipper Mohammad Azzharuddin) here who would make our country proud, take you all around the world and make you swell with pride or an artistic businessman with a difficult name to pronounce like Swarovski who would bedeck you with jewels and fine necklaces and you’ll never have to buy a chandelier for your house ever again or a Hindi film star like me who has nothing better to do than give you complicated multiple choice questions about a hypothetic wedding like this.”
Chopra replied: “I’d go for a great Indian sportsman because when I come back home or he comes back home, I know I will be there to be his support to tell him I am proud of him just as much as India is. To be able to tell him, ‘Hey look, you did your best, you are the best. I will take immense pride in my husband who will be a man of strong character if he can bring so much pride to my country.’”
Wishes pour in…
“Congratulations Manushi Chhillar! India is proud of your accomplishment.” — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi
“Best wishes to Manushi Chhillar for winning the Miss World title. May this inspire every young woman in our country to achieve her dreams, in whichever field she chooses.” – President of India, Ram Nath Kovind.
“Manushi, ‘the daughter of Haryana’, has made the country and the state proud.” — Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar
“And we have a successor! Congratulations Manushi Chhillar on becoming Miss World 2017. Cherish and learn, and most importantly enjoy it. Bravo,” — Actress and former Miss World, Priyanka Chopra
“India wins Miss World 2017! Congratulations Manushi Chhillar. About time! Super proud! Jai Hind.” – Bollywood actress and former Miss Universe Sushmita Sen
“Congratulations Manushi Chhillar. We knew you had all the qualities to conquer the world ever since we met you for the first time! You go girl!” – Actress, former beauty queen and Miss India 2017 pageant mentor Neha Dhupia.
— With inputs from IANS
