Pooja Chopra crowned Femina Miss India

Standing on top of the world is more than a victory for Femina Miss India – World Pooja Chopra, it is a victory for the girl child.


“I was the second girl child born to my mother, and my father did not want me. When I was twenty days old, my mother had to take a decision – either me or her husband. She picked me. When she left her husband’s home carrying me and my 7 year-old sister in her hands, she turned around and told her husband, “One day, this girl will make me proud”.”

Today, wearing the Miss India - World crown on her head, Pooja recalls her journey with tears in her eyes. “Trust me it has been a roller coaster”. Ask her who her inspiration, her guiding force, her mentor and her friend, through it all has been and the answer is unequivocal – “My mother. Even friends who have called to congratulate me have said, ‘we are happy for you, congratulations. Your mother deserves your win. And I totally agree.”


My mother has lived every inch of this dream with me.” Her father, whom Pooja has never been in touch with, has not called to congratulate her. “Shortly after, he remarried and had two sons. That’s all I know about him. I don’t even know if he knows this is me.

Pooja is full of gratitude to God for the wonderful journey. “I worked hard for it, sure. But so did all of the girls. My edge was my mother’s karma. She went through so much – she had to sacrifice so much. God wanted to give her something to compensate for it. I salute my mom. She is a true woman of substance.”


Neera Chopra lived through abuse, poverty and some tough choices to make her once-unwanted girl child, Pooja Chopra, the Pantaloons Femina Miss India-World she is today

I don’t know where to begin... they were terrible times. My husband was well-placed, but the marriage had begun to sink almost as soon as it began. Like most women do, I tried to work against all the odds.

My in-laws insisted everything would be alright if I had a son. My first child was a daughter, and that didn’t do me any good... but I couldn’t walk out. I had lost my father. I continued to live in my marital home in Kolkata. I looked after my mother-in law, who was suffering from cancer, and while bathing her, I would tell myself she would bless me and put things right.

I don’t know how I tolerated it all. I still wanted my marriage to survive. I was a pure vegetarian and learnt to cook non-vegetarian delicacies thinking it would please him.
Then, I was pregnant again. When Pooja was eight months in my womb, my husband brought a girl to the house and announced he would marry her. I thought of killing myself. I hung on the slight hope that if the baby was a boy, my marriage could be saved.

When Pooja was born a girl, for three days, nobody came to the hospital. There was a squadron leader’s wife on the opposite bed, who was kind enough to give me baby clothes for Pooja to wear. When she was 20 days old, I had to make a choice. I left the house with my girls — Pooja and Shubra, who was seven then. I haven’t seen my husband since. I promised myself, even if we had just one roti, we would share it, but together.

I began work at the Taj Colaba and got my own place. How did I manage? Truth be told, I would put a chatai on the floor, leave two glasses of milk and some food, and bolt the door from outside before going to work. I would leave the key with the neighbours and tell the kids to shout out to them when it was time to leave for school.

Their tiny hands would do homework on their own, feed themselves on days that I worked late. My elder daughter Shubhra would make Pooja do her corrections... This is how they grew up. At a birthday party, Pooja would not eat her piece of cake, but pack it and bring it home to share with her sister. When Shubhra started working, she would skip lunch and pack a chicken sandwich that she would slip in her sister’s lunchbox the next day.

Life began to change when I got a job for Rs 6,000 at the then Goa Penta. I would work 16-18 hours a day, not even taking weekly offs to accumulate leave and visit my daughters three or four times a year.

Shubhra got a job in Hotel Blue Diamond, being the youngest employee there while still in college, and managed to finish her Masters in commerce and her BBM. Today, she is married to a sweet Catholic boy who is in the Merchant Navy and has a sweet daughter.


I continue to finish my day job and come home and take tuitions, as I have done for all these years. I also do all my household chores myself. Through the years, Shubhra has been my anchor and Pooja, the rock. Pooja’s tiny hands have wiped away my tears when I broke down. She has stood up for me, when I couldn’t speak for myself. Academically brilliant, she participated in all extra-curricular activities. When she needed high heels to model in, she did odd shows and bought them for herself.

When I saw Pooja give her speech on TV, I knew it came from her heart. I could see the twinkle in her eye. And I thought to myself as she won “My God, this is my little girl.” God was trying to tell me something.

Today, I’ve no regrets. I believe every cloud has a silver lining. As a mother, I’ve done nothing great.