In the end, Laxmi Anand of Bangalore pipped Kochi lass Elizabeth Thadikaran, the reigning Miss Kerala, to win the Hairomax Miss South India 2011 title at the pageant held in Kochi. After she was crowned, Laxmi said, “I had come here to win and achieved it.” Yamini Chander was the second runner-up. In total, there were 16 participants, with three girls from Kerala while the rest were from Chennai, Hyderabad, and Bangalore. The pageant also made history: actress Abhinaya was the first ever participant in the contest with hearing and speech impediments.
Not surprisingly, she got the loudest applause from the audience. And it was the presence of Abhinaya which provided the first hiccup in the show. After being eliminated before the semi-final round, actor Srikant, a judge of the show, suddenly announced that Abhinaya should be brought back and be the seventh participant. Compere Ranjini Haridas, flustered by this sudden addition, said, “There is more mirchi here than a reality show.” Ajit Ravi, the chairman of Pegasus, the organisers, said, “It was unexpected, but we accepted the judges’ decision.”
Not everybody in the audience appreciated the gesture, since it was a competition and Abhinaya was eliminated fair and square. In fact, during the promotions for the contest, Abhinaya had said, “Please don’t show sympathy to anyone’s disability, as they are trying to be as normal as others.” So, may be, she could have practiced what she preached, and refused the nomination. Meanwhile, Srikant enjoyed some fan support himself. Singer Ranjini Jose announced from the stage that she had a huge crush on Srikant ‘Sir’. So, was it in his honour that she only sang Tamil and Telugu songs for the Malayali audience?
The self-introduction round, as expected, had clever word play. Here’s one from Elizabeth: ‘The purpose of life is to have a purpose’. What was surprising was how tall most of the girls were. Said Ranjini, “This must be the tallest batch I have come across. I feel like a dwarf next to them.”
There was a linen designer wear round, in black and white gowns and skirts. And after the ‘common question round’, it ended up in a tie between Laxmi and Yamini. So, all the seven contestants had to do the round again, before Laxmi was declared the winner, while Elizabeth squeezed past Yamini to get the first runner-up slot.
The cultural programme in between the rounds was interminable, with a never-ending succession of songs and dances. Maybe Pegasus could break the monotony next time by bringing in a mimicry artist or a comedy skit about fashion pageants. The clapping was lukewarm throughout, but intensified when Ravi of Pegasus gave a cheque to Parveena Hafeez, the MD of Sunrise Hospital, to sponsor a free heart surgery for a child.