THE Vivel Miss Kerala contest was an evening of fun and entertainment at Le Meridien as 21 beauties ruled the ramp for more than five hours. The show which was judged by popular personalities from the film industry like Priyadarsan, Bala, Narain, Usha Uthup, model Kainat Arora, dancer Pallavi Joshi, N Rajeev and Rafi Mather stood out for the sizzling attires of the contestants and a few bizarre answers.
They trooped in one by one with a self-introduction and preened and posed in lovely designer saris. Some came out with amusing answers like, “I wish my father were a terrorist for he created a bomb like me!” The stage fear of some of the contestants was obvious when they went haywire with their answers.
“People should not be judged by the colour of their skin,” went one speech... a desperate attempt to win over the judges.
Many clapped, many jeered but the girls went on unmindful. There was no dearth of proclamations like “I’m the black beauty.” Quotable quotes from Hellen Keller - “The best thing in this world cannot be touched or seen” - found smiles unfolding on the faces of the audience.
Some girls were in a mood for story telling. When one of the contestants started with “There was a little girl...,” a lady in her late 30s in the audience commented, “I think we should teach them how to talk!” Some shone through with their confidence.
The tallest of the lot with an uncertain stride seemed busy taking care not to trip and fall. But all their shortcomings were forgiven as people watched the brilliant anchors, Deepa and Nithin Arora, calling the shots. The catwalk round saw the girls in dashing evening gowns by designer Hari Anand. The attire in shades of green, maroons and tempting chocolate hues stole the show. Then came the crucial western wear round which saw the girls answering questions put by the judges. Usha, obsessed with reality shows, couldn’t help asking a contestant how significant the shows are for women. She pepped the contestants, tried hard to boost their confidence levels and dedicated two songs to “all the beautiful ladies in this country.” A few light moments were provided by the judges too. When Bala asked a contestant whether it was her parents or her lover that she valued the most, many youngsters in the crowd were eager to answer.
But guess who stood out with confident answers and striking looks to grab the crown? Archana Nair, the biochemical engineer from the US floored the audience and the judges with her chaste Malayalam and down to earth attitude. Archana grabbed two subtitles too - Miss Beautiful Mind and Miss Talented.
The first runner up of the contest was Geethu Christy and the second runner up was Kochiite Bonny Mary Mathew, a student of St Teresa’s.
The other subtitles in the contest were Miss Vivacious (Prim Rose), Miss Congeniality (Ninim Kasim), Miss Photogenic and Miss Beautiful Skin (Priyanka Rao), Miss Perfect (Priyanka Sainab), Miss Beautiful Smile (Anjusha Jaikumar), Miss Voice (Priyanka Sainab), Miss Beautiful Hair(Amalda Joseph) and Miss Beautiful Eyes (Malavika Wales). The show was spiced up by Vibes, the dancers from Bangalore and Ambili Menon, the singer from Mumbai.
jijicherian@epmltd.com
