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Some women are determined to write their own fate. Like Helen of Troy, or Monroe, Cleopatra or our very own MadhuBala. Controversy dogs beauty and no one knows this better than a woman called Sushmita. From the time she stepped into beautiful adolescence until now she learnt the lessons of life the hard way. And fast. Crowned the most beautiful woman in the Universe at twenty, Sushmita Sen has come a long way since then. From the presiding caviar serving la di dah events tosweating itout in the grime of the filmi studios. She has led a rather normal filmi existence. This is Bollywood, tehre are no concessions here. And Ms. Sen has had her fair share of carping critics, her erratic lifestyle, her unpunctual ways, her live in relationships, her much married boyfriend Vikram Bhatt,her phenomenal asking price, her undeflated ego,her problem and consequent patch up with Akshaye Kumar, all have brought her morethan her share of flak.

Many years ago, Sushmita Sen decided that the best way to "start out in life was to walk up the stairs rather than take the lift". Which is probably why she decided to "take the Miss Universe contest one step at a time" and aim for the last summit only when it was well within reach.

Sushmita Sen, all of 18 years took the world by storm by becoming the first India to be crowned Ms. Universe in 1994. After the contest, she candidly admitted, "Everybody knows that I'm not the most beautiful woman in the world,", as she explained that she won the Miss Universe contest not only on the basis of her figure and her face, but also on the strength of her personality and the way she projected her country. She did however concede, "I am pretty decent-looking."

And so, Sush as her friends and the media called her, spent a year as Ms. Universe, touring the world, visiting charitable organisations and institutions. Overnight, the giddy-headed teenager turned into a self-possessed professional.

After her year as Ms. Universe, Sushmita made the obvious move and Bollywood. Her debut film 'Dastak' was a flop and the subsequent 'Zor' was not box office gold.

Her forthcoming projects include Ajay Devgan's 'Hindustan Ki Kasam', David Dhawan's 'Biwi No 1', Boney Kapoor's Hindi remake of the Tamil super hit 'Kaadhal Kottai' and 'Chakra' with Sanjay Dutt. Sushmita aims to be acknowledged as an A grade actress. "My goal is to be what Shabana Azmi is in an art film and that is superlative. I want to be superlative in a commercial film."

She's come a long way, and she's done a pretty good job. In her own words, "I've always been an adventurer, an explorer. Till the ninth standard, I didn't know a word of English. I studied in a Hindi-medium school. After that I'd get awful grades in English. But I persisted. Today I may not use fancy lingo but I can hold my own in any conversation."

As for the future, she promptly replies, "I see myself as a very successful entrepreneur. Maybe making films or else starting my own clothesline. I see myself as a corporate woman, sitting on the 16th floor of a swank office with a glass window that overlooks the Manhattan skyline."

Sushmita managed to make news when she moved in with the once-married Vikram Bhatt. But she made it clear that it was nobody's business but her own. Her parting shot: "Life's all about choices. Everyone's destination is the same, only the paths are different. I chose to take the road less traveled and maybe that's made all the difference."