Hall Of Fame

Neeta Puri was crowned as Miss India USA and Miss India New York 1983. She joined Bollywood just after her crowning and has acted in over 25 movies including ‘Awwal Number’ produced and directed by legendary Dev Anand. Neeta also acted in many video movies produced by Nari Hira of Stardust magazine, who incidentally judged her in Miss India USA pageant. She owns a clothing and jewelry store named “Neeta Puri Expressions”.

Bela Bajaria is Miss India Worldwide and Miss India USA 1991. Bela has been part of entertainment industry just after getting her crown. She is VP with Netflix and head of Netflix’s non-English content. Prior to joining Netflix in 2016, she served as President of Universal Television. She is the highest placed Indian American in the entertainment industry in USA.

Ritu Singh Vaidya represented India in Miss India Worldwide 1991 held in New York and was placed First Runner Up. She was crowned Femina Miss India World same year and represented India in Miss World and was placed in Top Five and was also Second Runner Up in Miss Asia. She became a top model in India but soon moved to Nepal following her marriage. Ritu produced and gave her voice to a music album ‘Sun Zara’. She has made a mark in business world and is at present the Managing Director at United Traders Syndicate, authorized dealer of Toyota vehicles for Nepal.

Kamal Sidhu was in Top Five of Miss India Worldwide 1991 after being crowned as Miss India Canada. Just after Miss India Worldwide pageant, Kamal was invited by top modeling agency in India and became a top model, VJ, TV Anchor and actor. She was VJ with Channel V, Zoom TV and MTV. She was hugely popular with teen population in India, many imitating her style of dress, hair and talking. She also acted in Bollywood movies including Aar Ya Paar as lead opposite Jackie Shroff.

Shivani Wazir Pasrich represented India in the Miss India Worldwide 1992 held in New York City and was placed First Runner Up. She was also crowned as Femina Miss India same year. Shivani is an actor, an Odissi dancer, a Master of Ceremonies, a social activist and a lawyer based in Delhi. She has done more than five hundred television shows and facilitated over a thousand live events. Shivani has acted in a number of television serials like Mumkin, Muthi Bhar Sitare, Kashamkash and a telefilm called ‘Jahan Pyar Mile’ as well as Yash Chopra’s National Award winning film ‘Dil To Pagal Hai.’

Ruby Bhatia was winner of our affiliated Miss India Canada in 1993. She shifted to Mumbai and also took part in Femina Miss India. She went on to become VJ for Channel V and also hosted BPL Oye! and Filmfare Awards. Ruby also hosted Miss World 1996 in Bangalore organized by Amitabh Bachchan. Ruby appeared in several Hindi serials as Kasauti Zindagi Kay as well as movies including Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon and Halla Bol.

Karminder Kaur Virk was crowned Miss India Worldwide 1994 held in New York City representing Femina Miss India, our affiliate that time. Karminder was crowned Femina Miss India World and represented India in Miss World pageant and won ‘Best National Costume’ in that pageant. She crowned Aishwarya Rai in 1994 Femina Miss India World as reigning Femina Miss India World. A top model of her time, Karminder acted in TV serial C.A.T.S. based on Charlie’s Angels on Sony TV. She also acted in Bollywood movies Prithvi and Shastra with Suniel Shetty. Karminder moved to Australia following her wedding.

Dr. Ruby Dhalla represented Canada in the Miss India Worldwide 1994 held in New York City. Soon after she moved to India and played a lead role in a Bollywood movie “Kyon? Kis Liye” & TV series “Power Play”. A Chiropractor by profession, Dr. Dhalla born for politics, represented Brampton-Springdale in Canada Parliament from 2004 to 2011, being the first woman of Indian origin in Canada & the western world. She was also appointed as Canada’s First Female Finance Minister. In 2008 Maxim magazine ranked Ruby third in “The World’s Hottest Politicians.”

Krijay Govender is Miss India Worldwide Second Runner Up 1995 and also winner of Best Talent, Miss Beautiful Smile and Miss Congeniality in the same pageant. Earlier she was crowned Miss India South Africa. Krijay is an award- winning South African actress, playwright and director on stage and screen. She has 5 SAFTA awards for directing. She is also a stand-up comedienne and one of the top Emcee hosting events around the world.

Pooja Kumar is Miss India USA 1995 and Best Talent and Second Runner UP at Miss India Worldwide 1996 held in New York. After winning her title, Pooja started her global career as an American actress, producer and model. Amitabh Bachchan chose her as one of the bright new stars among 60,000 contestants and gave her the opportunity to host Miss World organized by him. Pooja has since worked in 5 Hollywood movies including Man on a Ledge, 28 Bollywood movies including Vishwaroopam, 25 Shows including Law and Order, 15 off Broadway shows and over 20 commercials.

Sandhya Chib was crowned as Miss India Worldwide 1996 by the legendary actor Dev Anand. She was crowned Femina Miss India Universe same year and represented India in Miss Universe 1996 and was placed in Top 10 at the Miss Universe competition. Declining various modeling and Bollywood offers, Sandhya got married and moved to USA soon after getting the crown of Miss India Worldwide and Femina Miss India Universe.

Rishma Malik represented Canada in Miss India Worldwide 1996 held in New York and was placed in Top Five. Soon after Rishma moved to Mumbai working as a VJ for Channel V. She became a celebrity host with millions of viewers. She worked in movies Bollywood Hollywood, Flavors and Hotel Babylon. Her recent television credits include Open Heart, The Adventure Of Napkin Man and Fir Crazy. She has established herself as Producer/Director based in Canada.

Aarti Chabria was crowned Miss India Worldwide 1999 representing India. After winning her title Aarti joined movie industry and appears in Hindi, Telugu, Punjabi and Kannada films. She is winner of Fear Factor – Khatron Ke Khiladi in 2011. Her movies include Awara Paagal Deewana, Raja Bhaiya, Tumse Achcha Kaun Hai and many more. She acted as lead opposite actor Govinda in many films. She is also directing and producing movies.

Vimla Raman is Miss India Australia 2004 and was in top five and Miss Beautiful Face at the Miss India Worldwide 2005 held in Mumbai. Just after her pageant career, Vimla made her acting debut in 2006 with Poi, a Tamil film. Since than she has acted in many Tamil and Malayalam movies with Mammooty, Mohanlal and many others. She is most sought after actress in Tamil and Malayalam movies.

Richa Gangopadhyay is Miss India USA 2007 and represented USA at the Miss India Worldwide 2008 held in Johannesburg, South Africa, and was placed in top five. She predominantly appeared in Telugu, Tamil and Bengali films. She has worked on several commercially successful Telugu films such as Nagavalli, Mirapakaay, Sarocharu and Mirchi. Working with many prominent actors she got various awards as Best Actress.

Nikkitasha Marwaha won Miss India Worldwide 2009 at Durban, South Africa. Earlier she was crowned Miss India USA 2008 and also winner of North American version of Sony’s “Boogie Woogie” in senior category. She was a contestant on ZEE TV Dance India Dance Season 2 in Mumbai and was placed in top ten. Nikkitasha was placed First Runner Up on NDTV’s Hunt for the Kingfisher Calendar Girl in 2013. She performed as the assassin ‘Mehr’ in Anil Kapoor’s released 24 on Colors TV. Nikkitasha has acted in movies Katti Batti, Ishq in Paris, Yadvi, 9 Eleven etc.

Richa Shukla Moorjani was crowned Miss India Northern California in 2008, going on to become the First Runner Up in the Miss India USA pageant same year. Soon after her crowning Richa decided to join Hollywood. Trained in Kathak, Bollywood, hip-hop, and jazz dance styles, Richa has acted in many Hollywood movies including Love Fool, Wolf and Invisible Brown Man. Richa’s television projects include Big Time Rush, The Mindy Project and Never Have I Ever as Kamla on Netflix created by Mindy Kaling.

Kubbra Sait represented Qatar in Miss India Worldwide 2009 held in Durban, South Africa, and won Miss Personality Award. She moved to Mumbai and soon became a leading anchor, model and actor. Kubbra has multiple awards including India’s Best Female Emcee Award. She has acted in several serials and web series including Sacred Games as Kukkoo. Kubbra also acted in movies Ready, Jodi Breakers, I Love NY, Sultan and Jawani Jaaneman.

Niharica Raizada is Miss India U.K. 2010 and First Runner Up at Miss India Worldwide 2010 held in Durban, South Africa. Soon after Niharica moved to Mumbai and has done several films such as Masaan, Warrior Savitri, Total Dhamaal and recently in 2020 the block buster Sooryavanshi with Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgan, Ranveer Singh and Katrina Kaif. A graduate of New York Film Academy, Niharica has done research in Cardiology at John Hopkins University under a Fulbright scholarship. Niharica was ranked 44 in the list of Times 50 Most Desirable Women of 2015.

Pallavi Sharda is Miss India Australia 2010 and was awarded Miss Fresh Look at the Miss India Worldwide 2010 held in Durban, South Africa. She acted as lead with Ranbir Kapoor in Besharam directed by Abhinav Kashyap. She has also acted in films like My Name Is Khan, Dus Tola, , Hawaizaada and Begum Jaan. She has also acted in many Hollywood movies including Lion, Les Norton, Pulse and Tom and Jerry. She is also active in various charities with her focus on Sanitation and Mother and Child.

Anvita Sudarshan was placed First Runner Up at the Miss India Worldwide 2012 held in Suriname after being crowned as Miss India Kuwait 2011 and finalist in I Am She Miss India Universe 2011 organized by Sushmita Sen. Anvita has a Masters Degree in Film Making from New York Film Academy and trained at London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts. She has made several short movies and one ‘Sadak Chaap’ premiered in the Cannes Film Festival 2015. Anvita is author of ‘Beauty Queen: The Pathway To Pageantry.’

Varsha Ramratan represented Suriname at the Miss India Worldwide 2012 held in Suriname under the patronage of the President and was placed in Top Five. Earlier she was crowned Miss India Suriname 2011. A lawyer by profession and the publicity generated by pageant platform, Varsha choose politics as career. With the support of her political guru, His Excellency Chandrikapersad Santokhi, now the President of Suriname, Varsha contested election for parliament 2020 but lost narrowly. A motivational speaker, Varsha works very closely with the President who has appointed her as Policy Advisor at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Business and International Cooperation.

Deana Uppal represented UK at the Miss India Worldwide 2012 held in Suriname under the patronage of the President of Suriname and was placed in Top Five and won Miss Bollywood Diva title. There was no stopping for Deana after that. She was one of the housemates in Big Brother UK ( Big Boss in India) and was placed in top three. Deana was contestant in Fear Factor – Khatron Ke Khiladi and featured in various movies including Bhaag Johnny, Yeh Hai India, Born To Be King. She also did many song vidios with Yo Yo Honey Singh and others. Deana has turned into Producer/Director and also runs a number of businesses under DKU World.

Monica Gill was crowned as Miss India Worldwide 2014 held in Dubai, UAE, after winning crowns of Miss India USA and Miss India New England. Monica made her Punjabi film debut in the 2016 Tips’ film ‘Ambarsariya’ opposite superstar Diljit Dosanjh and followed by a series of superhit Punjabi movies. In 2017 she made her Bollywood debut with Kapil Sharma in ‘Firangi’. Monica also acted in J.P. Dutta’s film ‘Paltan’ in 2019.

Shree Saini was crowned as Miss India Worldwide 2019 and Miss India USA 2018. She went on to create history by becoming the first Indian American MISS WORLD AMERICA and went on to become MISS WORLD 1st Runner Up! At the competition, Shree also won the “Beauty with a Purpose Service Award and Ambassadorship”, which is the highest service award out of 143 countries. Shree’s life journey to this title was filled with major challenges. She is a survivor of facial burns from a car accident and has had a permanent heart pacemaker implant since the age of 12. Shree will have 8 more heart surgeries in her lifetime. Yet, Shree continues to turn her pain into purpose, and uses everything she went through to be a messenger of hope. She has volunteered with over 100+ nonprofits and been invited to speak about her journey in over 37 states and 11 countries. Shree graduated from the University of Washington, while being a visiting student at Harvard, Yale, and Stanford University.