Mumbai: Actress Dia Mirza came into discussion with Miss India Pageant in the year 2000, but she says she never believed in the competition. Recalling the days of her achievement, Dia said, "Even today when I look back twenty years, everything seems very unrealistic. When this happened, I was very young."

She adds, "The year 2000 marked a new era. It brought with it a sense of hope, promise and enthusiasm." Interestingly, Dia never thought of winning a beauty contest.

She recalls those days, saying, "It all happened when a modeling agent noticed me. At the age of 16, he offered me a part time job. Everything happened very quickly after that – advertising, Campaigns, fashion shows and editorial shoots. Through one thing, another path opened up and I was selected from Hyderabad for the Miss India pageant."

Dia left Hyderabad for the first time in her life and came to Mumbai and started to keep pace with her life there.

She says, "This journey brought love and enthusiasm, but it was very difficult to walk this path alone at that time. As a human being, I never believed in competition, so it was just for me and it was like giving my best performance. It was important for me to learn more and more things while enjoying the journey."

Dia was the second runner-up in Miss India 2000 and later also won the title of Miss Asia Pacific.