After Miss Universe Harnaaz Sandhu‘s video of mimicking a cat went viral, the video received a lot of flak, particularly directed at Steve Harvey. A lot of people were shocked and enraged over what was perceived to be a difference in treatment between the contestant India and others. However, looks like former Miss Universe Lara Dutta has the answer.

TOI

Lara Dutta, in an interview, explained that before a contestant takes part in the pageant, they have to fill a questionnaire on their hobbies. Sandhu mentioned her interest in mimicking animal sounds and the question was aimed at that. She said

It’s a bit to see the lighter side of your personality. Every question does not have to be about saving the world or being Mother Teresa or ending world hunger. So, in Harnaaz’s form, one of the things she had written is that she used to enjoy mimicking animal sounds which is why that’s what they picked up. That’s why Steve Harvey asked her that question.

Dutta explains that she had mentioned classical dance in her form, and was asked to perform Bharatnatyam. However, she couldn’t dance in her gown. She further added:

So the question came from what she had written in the form. The idea of it was not to put her down or ask India a bizarre question. It’s just to see how you would perform when something like that is thrown at you and life is going to put you in so many situations along the way.

Kudos to Harnaaz Sandhu for displaying her talent unabashedly.