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POSITIVE OUTLOOK Sarah Jane Dias: ‘I don’t let negativity come in my way’

Miss India World 2007, Sarah Jane, almost prophetically, had this to say on the eve of the Miss World beauty pageant in the Chinese city of Sanya recently, even as the world thought that Miss China would, logically, win this year.

Sarah Jane’s very practical approach to the contest was quite obvious when she said she had no “plans” beyond the day of the contest, not even for her birthday just two days later. “I can’t see beyond tomorrow. It just doesn’t make sense,” she said driving up to her rehearsal, doing phone interviews with Indian publications.

Exhibiting great poise under tremendous pressure at this year’s contest was the 24-year-old Mumbai-based model and former Channel [V] VJ and actress, as she competed against 108 world beauties. The host of Get Gorgeous, a supermodel hunt on Channel [V] herself, she says she doesn’t particularly find beauty contests to be clichéd.

Speaking of the Miss India contest, she says: “I can’t remember a beauty contest where a contestant is asked ‘If you had to convince a rural woman to participate in the Miss India contest, how would you do it?’ or ‘How would you react if your husband cheated on you?’ Of course, girls from India keep joining films after winning these contests. But it’s the largest media-related industry and the two (beauty pageants and Bollywood) go hand in hand.”

Sarah says she is open to Bollywood, Hollywood and any other “good” opportunity. “But you can’t say this (beauty contests) is a platform to get into the movies. Different people have different dreams.”

Will she get back to VJ-ing, being musically inclined? “One thing’s for sure… there’ll always be music in my life.”

In Mumbai, Sarah was trained in modelling by Atul Kelkar. At the age of 21, she won a TV talent hunt contest, which gave her a chance to host the Channel [V] show. She’s also acted in a crossover movie “Brides Wanted” (2006), and featured in the video of Australian rock group INXS’s “Never Let You Go” from the album “Switch”.

Having studied and lived most of her life in Muscat, she won the Miss India Oman title sponsored by the Times of Oman at the age of 14!

Sarah is rather vociferous in her protest against women going under the scalpel to meet international beauty contest standards. “I don’t like it at all. Everyone is made a certain way… and unless there’s some damage caused, say due to an accident, there’s no need for any modification. It’s sad that girls are unknowingly pushed into surgery.”

But didn’t she herself have her teeth worked on, referring to them in earlier interviews as “fangs” (very often referred to as the Moushumi Chatterjee look)? “Yes, the maximum I would do is getting my teeth done… I just made them look more presentable.”

Sarah’s weight was also an issue during the Miss India contest. “Yes, there was criticism about my weight. But I wasn’t forced to do anything about it. There are some critics who think I’m overweight, some who think I’m not. But I don’t let negativity come in my way… anyway, people have even criticised Aishwarya Rai!”

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