The year 1994 holds a special place in Indian history, especially in the world of beauty pageants, since it was the same year when Sushmita Sen brought home the Miss Universe crown, while Aishwarya Rai was crowned Miss World. But apart from these two icons, another name was also part of the Miss India competition, who got less popularity, and her name is actress Shweta Menon.
Shweta Menon
In that memorable contest, Sushmita Sen emerged as Miss India, Aishwarya Rai became the first runner-up, and Shweta Menon secured the third position. Shweta, who went on to become a popular South Indian actress, also made history as the first woman president of the Malayalam Movie Artists Association (AMMA). Recalling those days, Shweta recently revealed that she shared a room with Aishwarya Rai during the competition.
Shweta Menon
Speaking at a media Conclave of South 2025, Shweta said, “I was Aishwarya Rai’s roommate, and that year Sushmita Sen won the title. Francesca Hart was the third runner-up. Later, I went on to represent India at Miss Asia Pacific and secured the position of third runner-up.” She further added that the excitement of participating in such competitions still inspires her, and now she sees the same spark in her daughter as well.
Shweta Menon
Earlier, in an interview, Shweta shared how she first received her invitation to Miss India. “One day, after returning from school, my father told me that a letter had arrived from Coimbatore inviting me to participate. He was initially upset because I had applied without his permission, but eventually, he supported me and even accompanied me to Coimbatore,” she recalled. Although she qualified for the finals, she was under 18 at the time and was not allowed to proceed further. Let us tell you that Shweta began her acting career in 1991 with Mammootty’s film Anaswaram and later entered Bollywood with Prithvi (1997), alongside Sunil Shetty and Shilpa Shetty.