January 22nd, 2009
New Delhi, Kareena Kapoor, Katrina Kaif and Yana Gupta are set to add a dash of glamour at the grand finale of PC Jewellers Miss India Worldwide pageant to be held at Pragati Maidan Jan 31.
'There will be a mix of beauty, talent and glamour at the finale of the pageant, with Bollywood beauties shaking a leg with the participants; it will be an evening to remember,' host Deepak Tijori said at the press conference here Wednesday.
Deepak's Tijori Entertainment is hosting the show with Kaleidovision.
The 20 finalists will go through a 10 day grilling regime.
'Training is not going to be a cakewalk for them. They will have to go through a tough and hectic regime of around 14 hours a day, which means they cannot take it easy,' said Mehar Bhasin, who will look after the grooming of the contestants.
'The finalists will undergo an exclusively designed training and grooming regime that includes fitness, diction, psyche, aptitude, hair and make-up sessions. The training will enhance their confidence not only for the finale, but for further rounds to be held on the international stage as well,' she added.
Beauty expert Blossom and Samantha Kochhar will take care of their beauty and hair, while fitness tips will be given by model-turned-actors Milind Soman and Rahul Dev.
Designer duo Rahul and Rohit Gandhi of the label Cue will design cocktail and evening wears for the participant. Madhu Jain and Milind Soman of the label M will design Indian traditional wear for the grand finale.
What makes this pageant different from other beauty pageants is the fact that even short girls may take part.
Tijori said: 'This pageant is not restricted by banalities like physical shortcomings; the absence of height criteria and swim suit rounds makes it different from the conventional pageants.
'Majority of the Indian girls do not match the height criteria of other beauty pageants. Though they might have oodles of talent one shortcoming ruins all their chances of applying there. We understood this thing and came with a concept that will cheer up many beautiful and talented girls all over India.'
Miss India Worldwide started 17 years ago and the contestants were primarily selected from the Indian diaspora. But it was felt that the pageant without a participant from India would be incomplete.
Then Tijori Entertainment and Kaleidovision took its franchisee from the Indian Festival Committee (IFC), a pioneer organisation conducting Indian pageants and fashion shows, in the US and worldwide.
