Miss World

"The Miss World contest gave me a chance to discover myself"

At the time of the Miss India contest, I was 19, just past my Class XII. I was as new as the other 20-odd contestants, but I was already known as Aishwarya Rai, the model. People therefore thought I was Miss Know All because of my experience. I spoke on the stage for the first time during the contest. If you see my body language, I always have one raised shoulder. It means that I'm taking things in, listening to what others have to say, instead of screaming for attention. "I love being in films" I am enjoying every moment of being in films. It's addictive. I was offered films in my modelling days, but I didn't give acting a shot then because it meant compromising on my studies. The only time I almost gave in to the temptation was in December 1993, when Toy (Dharmesh Darshan) spoke to me about Raja Hindustani. But then, I entered the Miss India contest. Even Rajiv Rai had called me during Mohra. When I look back, I wonder how those films would have been if I had done them. My life would probably not have been the same.