JOIN USAware of the fact that no Miss Universe or Miss World crown came to India's way in the past few years, the Miss India 2013 winner Navneet Kaur Dhillon is focusing on getting the crown home.
"My dream is to be crowned as the 62nd Miss Universe by last year's winner Olivia Culpo of US later this year. We have it, our girls have it to make it to the number one spot. I wish to end the 12-year-long drought," Navneet told PTI over phone from Mumbai.
The doe-eyed girl, who has turned down two film offers, is concentrating on the pageant right now.
"This could be a gradual progression from Miss India to film roles and modelling but I will give it a serious thought only later.
"Also my courses on media studies in Punjab University remain high on my priority list as your stint in showbiz can be a transitory phase, having a particular time span, and there always remains a career prospect which is permanent," she said.
"Again being in media studies means you are not far off from the world of films and modelling and can always straddle between the two fields," she added.
"I will cross the bridge when it comes but after the Miss Universe show only," she said.
Recalling the moment her name was called at the pageant final in Mumbai, Navneet said, "I can recall the moment as I screamed in joy and felt so proud for my family. From any other city girl hanging out at coffee joints and stealing a glance of film actors, this was the transition.
"I felt I can't do things as I like before public eye every time, but at times you can't check your emotion. And all my co-contestants and mentor Marc Robinson were also so happy, they understood my emotions."
Navneet said she did not have much idea about Bengali films but read about Pather Panchali and its maker maestro Satyajit Ray.
"Whenever I visit Kolkata, I visit his residence", she said.
Sobhita Dhulipala and Zoya Afroz were the two runners up in the Ponds Femina Miss India 2013.