Here is my second Hub about the Femina Miss India pageant history, and the Bollywood actress and Indian models that have had their careers advanced by it.
As we move up through time, you may see some names you are more familiar with.

Mehr Jesia (Miss India Universe 1986)
Born on August 11, 1969, Mehr Jesia rose to fame very quickly.
In 1986 a photographer saw her and suggested she enter the Miss India pageant.
She did, and one week later (yes ONE week) she won the title. She went on to represent India at the Miss Universe 1986 pageant in Panama City, Panama.
After the contests, Mehr mainly modeled, but she did co-produce the Bollywood film I See You in 2006 with her husband Arjun Rampal, which didn't do very well.
She went on to open a modeling school and agency.

Shikha Swaroop (Miss India International 1986)
The same year that Mehr Jesia won Miss India Universe, Shikha Swaroop won Miss India International.
Not only was Shika a beauty queen, but she also played badminton on a national level, and won a gold medal in the All India Pistol Shooting Championship in 1988.
Shika did some acting in Bollywood in the 1990s, but really got attention in the Indian fantasy television series, Chandrakanta, as Princess Chandrakanta.
It appears that Shika may be making a comeback, appearing in the 2009 TV series, Black on 9X.
She looks as beautiful as ever.

Shyla Lopez (Miss India World 1992)
Shyla Lopez was born in Bangalore, Karnataka, India and won the title of Femina Miss India World in 1992.
Later, she represented India at the Miss World 1992 contest.

Madhu Sapre (Miss India Universe 1992)
That same year, Madhu Sapre won the Miss India Universe title.
She was born July 14th, 1971 in Mumbai, India.
After winning the title, she went into modeling full time and still occasionally does shows, though now she lives in Italy with her husband Gian Maria.

Namrata Shirodkar (Miss India Universe 1993)
Born on January 22, 1972 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, Namrata Shirodkar won the Miss India Universe title in 1993.
Namrata started out as a model, and after winning the Miss India Universe title, she went on to represent India at the 1993 Miss Universe pageant where she made it to the top six.
She made her acting debut in the 1998 Bollywood film, Jab Pyaar Kisise Hota Hai with Salman Khan and Twinkle Khanna.
Namrata went on to appear in over twenty Hindi, Malayalam and Telugu films.

Pooja Batra (Miss India International 1993)
That same year, Pooja Batra won the Miss India International title.
Pooja was born on October 27, 1973 in Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Her mother, Neelam Batra competed in the 1971 Miss India pageant.
Pooja made her acting debut in the 1995 Tamil film, Aasai, with Ajith Kumar and Suvalakshmi.
She went on to appear in twenty-four Bollywood, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films.

Aishwarya Rai (Miss India World 1994)
What can I say about Ash that hasn't already been said?
Nothing probably.
She won the 1994 Miss India World, then went on to win the Miss World 1994 pageant in Sun City, South Africa.
After the pageant, Aishwarya went on to modeling, then into acting, debuting in the 1997 Tamil film, Iruvar with Mohanlal and Prakash Raj.
In 2004 Time magazine listed her as one of the World's "100 Most Influential People" and in 2005, 60 Minutes called her "The World's Most Beautiful Woman" and the rest is history.

Sushmita Sen (Miss India Universe 1994)
That same year, Sushmita Sen won the Miss India Universe title.
And in the same year that Ash won Miss World, Sushmita won the Miss Universe title in Manila, Philippines making her the first Indian woman to be crowned Miss Universe.
After her title reign was over, she started her acting career, debuting in the 1996 film, Dastak.
Sushmita went on to appear in over thirty films, and was nominated and won several Filmfare Awards, Star Screen Awards and Zee Cine Awards.
In 2006, she received the Rajiv Gandhi Award for her achievement in Bollywood.

Shweta Menon (Miss India Asia - Pacific 1994)
And again in that same year, Shweta Menon won the title of Miss India Asia - Pacific.
She made her acting debut in 1991 in the Malayalam movie, Anaswaram.
Since 1991, Shweta has appeared in over forty films and is still active today with six films released or to be released in 2009 alone.