In December 2000, Dia Mirza, then just a wide-eyed, 18-year-old was crowned Miss Asia Pacific International and life was never the same. The young girl who had never travelled abroad before was now the toast of an International beauty pageant.

Life had suddenly turned even more beautiful than dreams and Dia Mirza recalls, "I have said this before that I was not raised to be competitive. And perhaps that is why I never wondered what would happen if I did not win. As this young kid from Hyderabad, I went to both the Miss India pageant and to Miss Asia Pacific International with the thought that I would value the opportunity and make the most of it. Whenever I felt the stirrings of the desire to win, I in fact felt uncomfortable. But looking back, winning felt like transitioning from my old life to a new one. I was still the same but everything else had changed. And since then my attitude towards every new opportunity has been the same. I approach it with gratitude and humility and I learn, imbibe and make the most of it."