Femina Miss India 2009 Review

by Rajat Dutta

Introduction
Eight years…that is how long that India found another Miss World or Miss Universe. We ended up at Runner's Up spot so many times, (Shonali : Miss International 2003 , Shonal: Miss Asia Pacific 2003 , Amrutha: Miss Earth 2006 , Pooja C: Miss Earth 2007 , Parvathy :Miss World 2008 ) yet the crown remained so close yet so far.

Then comes 2009. The year of hope! The year of change. The year of expectations! Major revamping of the Miss India organization and the staff. For starters the contestant director was replaced. It was no longer Hemant Triwedi but ex-model Marc Robinson!

Trivia: Marc is Walluscha D Souza's husband. Walluscha is the contestant who lost to the terrific trio of Lara , Priyanka and Diya in 2000 Miss India based on Q/A . Many pageant fans thought that appearance-wise Walluscha was far better than the eventual winners. Will Marc smash the old Miss India legacy of sending brainy but swimsuit-score compromising Miss Indias? As it has been in the past, Miss Indias specially at the Miss Universe pageant falter because of their not-so-toned bodies! (Amrita 2005 , Nikita 2003 failed to even make the first cut). Will 2009 be any different?

The SHOW
Grand and bulldozer but highly unprofessional . They have the air time that keeps on going and going! Started at 8 pm and ended at 00:30 AM , Four and a half Hours of utter torture!

The hosts Malaika and Madhavan were just tolerable and stylish but the co hosts Swapnil and Karan, the less said about them the better. The jokes were far from being funny. The show dragged on. Some 20 Sub awards were given in 3 special rounds, I mean if we calculate the air time given to the sub-awards only it was half an hour!

Out of 270 long minutes of the Miss India Pageant, I think only 60 minutes was of the MISS INDIA CONTEST which was worth the watch. All the rest was utter trash , be it the sadistic jokes by the co-hosts , horrible Performances by Kangana, Genelia or Priyanka or the never ending sub-award giving ceremony! Femina Miss India will never learn.. !

FORMAT of the PAGEANT
Yet again the same old faulty format was followed, having no emphasis on swimwear whatsoever. The show begins with the co hosts "interviewing" the 20 girls followed by the opening number, introduction of the judges, casual wear (again with the introduction), evening wear, cut to Top 10, judges' question and answer, saree round, cut to Top 5, final Q/A round followed by the coronation of the three Queens! Let's just see how the evening unfolded.

My Analysis
The Opening Introductory Sequence
What can I say, it was not an interview. It was not professional. The 2 co-hosts just made fool of themselves and the contestants had to reply to their sad sad jokes! Nonetheless, we got to see the contestants in their swimsuit videos and a li’l tidbit that I got to hear from them showcased their personalities!

My Top 4 for the Introductory Video
1. Nandini - She smashed it. Perhaps this is what called first impression is long lasting. After watching this stylish young lass I was rooting for her. She looked hot in her red dress.
2. Shriya-Calm and composed she was "daring" enough to shut the 2 hosts up showing that she is a no nonsense girl.
3. Ekta-She was natural and cool as a cucumber! One can easily relate to Ekta. Very down to earth person!
4. Harshita-Confidence as its peak! Sparkle in her eyes she was there to win!

Other tidbits from this round:
-Dimple just couldn’t speak. Her interview made no sense as she succumbed to the sick jokes by the co-hosts and wasted her precious air time.
- Karishma gave a fabulous reply: “Practice makes a man perfect! What does a woman make perfect”, She replied “Women are born perfect!" Witty one!
- Ragini was uptight and so was Aparijta
- Tulip just stood there and pursed and smiled!

The Stage
Naah, We have seen better but this one comes with a ramp and a long one! It’s a modern setup a good move but a lot of space wastage!

The Opening Number
As cheesy as it gets! The girls "danced" or made erratic jerky movements on Rocky S collection. Anyways it was way better than the 2008 Opening Number. This one was aggressive symbolizing Marc's presence. But sorry to say the Girls couldn’t pull it off!

Miss India 2009 Opening Number Video
The Judges
Madhur Bhandarkar : Many say Pooja Chopra got mileage from him as she was in his films "Fashion"
Sushmita Sen : Gorgeous ! But ha! She judged her twin Shriya!
Nandita Mahtani : The girls ramped for her in Lakme Fashion Week So she knows who is really worth the walk
Asin : Bollywood Superstar
Ravi Krishnan : Sponsor Appeasement!
Mickey Boardman : All the way from New York
Anil Chopra : Advisor Lakme
Ajay Devgan : Superstar Bollywood
Deppika Padukone : The real Miss India that night , Bollywood Star

Round II : Introduction of 20 girls in Pantaloons Connection By Rajesh and Anirban
Ekta: I loved what she did when she reached the end of the ramp! Her shoulder bend was very sassy and hot!
Harshita : Loved the walk and smile!
Shriya : You cannot help but be charmed by her! She has a very cute face. Mix of Sushmita and Niharika Singh (Miss India Earth 2005)!

Round III : Evening Gown By Arabella
My Top 3
Ekta: Yet again! She was looking divine in her pink gown and her walk and her smile was so mesmerising.
Dimple: She is tall, statuesque, has a beautiful face and eyes to die for! What else you need? She looked awesome!
Aarohi: Seductive! Absolutely classy! Loved her so much.

Announcement of top 10
After that was the announcement of the top 10, I had my list ready too!

My Predictions for Top 10 were as follows:
1. Ekta
2. Dimple
3. Shriya
4. Harshita
5. Pooja C
6. Nandini
7. Niharika
8. Faith
9. Ishita
10. Pooja H

My Top 10 Assessment: So I got 8/10 right! Deeksha and Raagini were the 2 surprises. While Deeksha was a pleasant one, Raagini a shocking one ! Dimple, Dimple , Dimple! What went wrong? Take a break and work on your diction and come back we need you!

Here are my top 5 Answers in order:
1. Shriya
2. Harshita
3. Ekta
4. Pooja C
5. Ishita
Will judges agree with me?

Round IV : Saree round By Ritu Kumar
My top 3
Dimple: Gorgeous! Loved her smile and spark! She is so tall and she swayed like a beautiful swan!
Pooja C: Indian dress suits her! She looked like a princess. Royalty was dripping with her every step.
Ekta: Now my outright favorite for the Miss India Universe title after her answer and her walk! She was a complete package.

TOP 5 Announcement and the Answer
After that the Top 5 was announced and they were asked a final question "If you are to meet God what will you ask Him?"
First was: Ekta - Thank God she made it! I was so happy to see her! She gave a mind blowing response! Her answer had depth. She replied that she would ask God why in the name of religion there is so much blood bath when all religious paths lead to you! Brilliant! Loved her answer!
Shriya - Yes! I knew it! I was expecting for another thunderous reply And yes I got it! She asked God why man thinks that he will never die when he sees people dying around him! A quote word to word from Swami Vivekananda's sayings indicating this woman's mental and spiritual prowess! I have never heard such amazing answers on the stage of any pageant! Seems she not only resembled Sushmita facially but also was in her same league if not above when it came to mental power. See Video below for her top 10 and Top 5 answers.
Shriya Top 10 and Top 5 answer video

Pooja Chopra Top 10 and Top 5 answer Video

Harshita - I just jumped out of my seat and my another favorite made it! This was turning out to be a good team India! But I still have not got her answer! She replied that she would ask God why is she so privileged to be up here on stage in front of every one? "Why me God? Look at me, I maybe a winner tonight!" I think she wanted to be grateful to God and thank him for his support but I guess it came out to "I, me, myself" type of an answer!

Ishita - Would say that she was best among the remaining 6 but was no where close to Harshita , Shriya , Ekta or Pooja ! And she came up with a weird reply "The Reason for creating Human Being”. As usual she was looking angry!

What I anted based on the overall performance is EKTA or HARSHITA for Miss Universe or Miss World. Shriya for Miss Earth and POOJA Chopra for Miss Earth.

Farewell to the 2008 queens
Simran, Parvathy and Tanvi came then for their final walk. Seriously, what was Tanvi thinking? Ignoring her, the duo (Simran and Parvathy) were looking fabulous! Simran of course as usual carried an aura around her. Many great feats await in her life! All the best to the 3 girls (Watch Video of their farewell)

Miss India 2008 Farewell Video

Coronation

Miss India EARTH Is SHRIYA So far so good! She was my choice for Miss Earth!

Miss India World is Puja Chopra Was shocked for a moment, because now only one post was left and my 2 favourites were there Ekta and Harshita !!

Miss India Universe is Ekta Chaudhary Awesome choice, but this sweet smell of victory for me was overshadowed by Harshita's exclusion from top 3.

Blooper of the Century : Talk about mismanagement
Tanvi had Miss India Earth's sash and Miss India Universe crown! So Shriya in the end was wearing the Miss India Universe crown! Simran had Miss India world Sash and had Miss India Earth Crown! Though the sashes got corrected she gave Ekta the Miss India Earth crown! Parvathy had Miss India Universe sash which she corrected with Simran.

Ekta Chaudhary Miss India Compilation Video

Miss World
I'll never get Pooja and I’ll never get Miss World! It just depends on her training and how she prepares for Miss World! It can be all or nothing for Pooja at Miss World! No doubt this girl is having supreme confidence and great personality but is that enough to battle it out with some 100+ beauties world over? Let's just wait and see!

Miss Earth
Shriya is Sushmita + Niharika ! Filipinos loved Sushmita and Miss EARTH loves brainy young smart women! Shriya is being sent to the right pageant! She will create wonders there and will leave a mark! If she enters Miss Earth Top 8, trust me the crown is hers!

Harshita - I really feel that this is a wrong pageant for Harshita! She was made for Miss Universe, but if the Miss International Organization gets to see her unique beauty and her fierce attitude and spiking confidence India will have its first Miss International Crown!

That's all folks. Team India 2009 is ready and raring to go. It’s a strong team and I have lots of expectations from it. Leaving you all with a compilation video of all the 4 Miss India's together with their ramp walk. Enjoy, good luck to the 4 charming girls!