Shwetha Menon Remembers Sharing a Room with Aishwarya Rai During Miss India 1994
Actor Shwetha Menon, recently appointed as the first female president of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), took a nostalgic trip back to 1994—the year India celebrated Sushmita Sen and Aishwarya Rai winning Miss Universe and Miss World, respectively.
The Miss India Connection
At the India Today Conclave South 2025, Shwetha revealed that she was also a contestant in the 1994 Miss India pageant and, interestingly, shared a room with Aishwarya Rai during the competition. “I was a roommate of Aishwarya Rai, and Sushmita Sen won it,” she said. Francesca Hart was the third runner-up, while Shwetha went on to represent India at Miss India Asia Pacific, finishing as third runner-up.
A Hard-Earned Achievement
Reflecting on her pageant journey, Shwetha shared, “I went to Miss India Asia Pacific but managed to get third runner-up without any backing. The excitement that we had, I can see it in everyone now and in my daughter too. Today, I think everyone is a model.”
Interestingly, Shwetha had previously recalled being crowned first runner-up at Miss India but was disqualified from entering the final round because she was under 18. “One day, when I came back from school, my father informed me that there was a letter from Coimbatore to participate in the Miss India contest. Though he was hesitant initially, he accompanied me to Coimbatore. I came first runner-up in the competition and my photos appeared in newspapers in Kerala. As the first runner-up, though I was qualified to participate in the final, I wasn’t allowed since my age was below 18,” she told Matrubhumi.
From Beauty Pageants to the Silver Screen
Shwetha Menon soon transitioned to films, making her Malayalam debut with Mammootty’s Anaswaram (1991) and entering Bollywood with Prithvi (1997), co-starring Suniel Shetty and Shilpa Shetty. Over the years, she appeared in Hindi films like Asoka, 88 Antop Hill, Hungama, and Corporate.
Making History as AMMA’s First Female President
Today, Shwetha Menon continues to inspire as AMMA’s first female president, proving that her journey from beauty pageants to the silver screen and now leadership in Indian cinema is a story of perseverance, talent, and breaking barriers.
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