Lara Dutta shot to fame after she won Miss Universe in 2000. She was the second Indian to win it, with the first being Sushmita Sen in 1994.

But here`s a cool fact: During the last part of the competition, where they ask questions, Lara was asked to talk to the folks outside who were against the pageant. (Pic/AFP)

Back in 2000, there were protests happening during the Miss Universe contest in Cyprus.

Some people were of the opinion that the idea of a pageant was regressive and disrespectful to women.  (Pic/AFP)

When it came down to the final three contestants – Lara from India, Claudia Moreno from Venezuela, and Helen Lindes from Spain – they were all asked to convince the protesters outside that they were mistaken about the pageant being disrespectful to women.

Lara responded to the question confidently, saying, "I think pageants like the Miss Universe pageant give us young women a platform to foray in the fields that we want to and forge ahead...."

She continued, "be it entrepreneurship, be it the armed force, be it politics...."

She concluded, "It gives us a platform to voice our choices and opinions and makes us strong, independent that we are today." 

The judges were really impressed by Lara`s answer, and she ended up winning the Miss Universe 2000 title.

In terms of her career, there are some fresh pictures popping up from the filming of Nitesh Tiwari`s Ramayana online, and they`re getting a lot of attention. Apparently, Lara Dutta is said to be portraying the character of Kaikeyi in the movie.