When Dia Mirza had said she was not 'envious' of Priyanka Chopra and Lara Dutta

Ethereal actor Dia Mirza is celebrating her 39th birthday today. The actor was crowned Miss Asia Pacific in 2000 and made her film debut opposite R Madhavan in Rehnaa Hai Tere Dil Mein. 

Dia was also the second runner-up at the 2000 Miss India pageant, losing the race to Lara Dutta and Priyanka Chopra. In a 2016 interview, Dia had chatted with Hindustan Times and had spoken about the comparisons that are made between the three.

Talking about Priyanka's Hollywood debut with Quantico, she had said, "I'm so proud of her. I think our journey is a great example to give because if you look at Lara, Priyanka, and Me, I think we are individuals who have defined our own path. We have done exactly what our individuality has determined for us. Priyanka is doing well in acting ... Lara is enjoying motherhood and doing films... and we are not kind of envious about it."

For the uninformed, all three actors had created history in 2000 by winning Miss Asia Pacific, Miss Universe, and Miss World pageants.

In her interview, Dia had added that Priyanka and Lara would also say the same thing about being compared to each other. "If you listen to what Priyanka says, she would say the same thing, as would Lara. We are all an outcome of what we call, 'what we have chosen for ourselves'. We are just as liberated as we can be by the ideas that we have of ourselves and as stunted as an idea of ourselves." 

On the work front, Dia was last seen in Anubhav Sinha's acclaimed film Thappad. She played a divorced mother of a young girl, who gave protagonist Taapsee Pannu's character hope and courage to live a life of respect. Her performance in the supporting role was lauded by fans and critics alike.