Urvashi Rautela said that she was asked by Sushmita Sen to step down as a Miss Universe contender because she did not meet the age requirement.

Urvashi Rautela (right) recalled her ordeal at Miss Universe India. (Photo: Sushmita Sen, Urvashi Rautela/Instagram)

Urvashi Rautela has been in the public eye for over a decade, and in the many years that she has been around, people have become used to taking her claims with a pinch of salt. But recently, Urvashi, who has over 70 million followers on Instagram, shared that she was asked by former Miss Universe Sushmita Sen to give up her Miss India Universe title in 2012. Even though Urvashi had won the competition that qualified her to compete for Miss Universe, she had to let go of the opportunity. She later won the same pageant in 2015, and went on to represent India at Miss Universe.

In 2012, Urvashi participated in a pageant called ‘I Am She–Miss Universe India’. Since Femina Miss India had given up its exclusive rights to select India’s representative for the main Miss Universe pageant, Sushmita Sen’s company had taken over the responsibility of selecting India’s representatives. Urvashi won the pageant but soon afterwards, she was disqualified as it was proven that she wasn’t yet 18. “When I won Miss Universe India for the first time in 2012, there is an age limit for Miss Universe… Our boss was Donald Trump. The age limit was 18, even I didn’t know that I was 17 after I won. I was 24 days short from the age limit,” she shared with Mirchi Plus. At this time, Donald Trump co-owned the Miss Universe organisation.

Urvashi said that she was told by Sushmita to give up her crown. “Sushmita Sen told me that ‘Urvashi, you can’t go…’ At that point, I felt like the biggest loser of my life,” she shared, and added that she questioned the rules of age limit at the time. Urvashi said that even though she started her career in the entertainment industry soon after this, she went on to participate the same competition again in 2015.

In 2015, Miss Diva (by Femina Miss India) handled the responsibilities of selecting the Indian representative for Miss Universe. Urvashi said that as she went in to audition, other women present at the venue thought she was there as a judge. “All the girls there, they did not want me to participate. And I could actually feel that because there was this entire group and I was all alone,” she said and added, “People said who gives 10th standard exams after passing 12th standard exams? But I still did it, and I still won. I am the only girl who won Miss Universe India twice.”