Miss India Event

What is the Event About?

Miss India, also known as Femina Miss India, is India’s national beauty pageant held annually.

The Miss India titleholder qualifies to represent India in the Miss World pageant, the oldest and one of the Big Four beauty pageants globally, alongside Miss India, Miss International and Miss Earth.

Presently, Sini Sadanand Shetty holds Miss India 2022 title.

Table of Content

• Details

• History

• Theme 

• Registration

• Celebrities

• Schedule

• Conclusion

Details

History

Miss India was first held in 1947 by the local press. Esther Victoria Abraham, better known as Pramila, from Kolkata, was the first Miss India.

Two Miss India pageants were held in 1952, and Nutan and Indrani Rehman won those.

However, Nutan was later crowned Miss Mussorie, and Indrani Rehman went on to be Miss India. Rehman was also the first woman to represent India at the inaugural Miss India event.

The year after that, Peace Kanwal was crowned Miss India and later on became a Bollywood actress.

Leela Naidu became Miss India in 1954.

From 1955 to 1958, no Miss India pageants were held. The competition resumed under Eve’s Weekly, which held the first Eve’s Weekly Miss India.

The winner Fleur Ezekiel went on to represent India at the Miss World pageant.

Femina organised the national pageant in 1964. That year, Meher Castelino Mistry was crowned Miss India. She later represented India at Miss Nations 1964 and Miss India 1964.

In 1966, Reita Faria won Eve’s Weekly Miss India title. She also became the first Miss India winner and Asian to win an international pageant, Miss World 1966.

That was also the year the winner of Femina Miss India, Yasmin Daji, secured the Third Runner-up position at Miss India.

Four years later, in 1970, Zeenat Aman became the first Femina Miss India Asia Pacific to win an international pageant. She was later crowned Miss Asia Pacific.

This was the same decade in which Femina obtained the right to send a Miss World representative.

Femina then began to send the Miss India winner to Miss India and the runner-up to Miss World. In 1991, Femina also got the nod to send a Miss International representative.

In 1994, Sushmita Sen, who won Femina Miss India 1994, and Aishwarya Rai, who was Femina Miss India runner-up, made history by winning Miss India and Miss World, respectively.

That same year, Femina discontinued this single-winner tradition.

Instead, it began to name the top three participants as Femina Miss India-Universe, Femina Miss India-Asia Pacific and Femina Miss India-World and sent a finalist to the Miss International pageant.

Each is rewarded with equal prizes, equal visibility, and equal responsibilities.

Then, in 2002, when Miss Earth, an environment-focused beauty pageant, was launched, Miss India-Asia Pacific was changed to Miss India-Earth.

However, in 2010, I Am She – Miss India India, in which Sushmita Sen was a partner, obtained the right to send a Miss India representative.

The top three Femina Miss India participants were then sent to Miss World, Miss International and Miss Earth.

In 2013, Femina acquired back Miss India rights and started a new pageant, Miss Diva, to send its winner to Miss India.

Theme

Miss India does not follow any such theme. It is essentially a culmination of many city-level pageants, where winners represent their respective cities on the national stage, and the winner then represents India at the Miss World pageant.

Miss India does not have any talent shows. Instead, participants are judged based on their personality, communication skills, how updated they’re on matters of the nation, wit, and outward appearance.

Femina Miss India winners are awarded Rs. 1 lakh and substantial national and international media coverage. They also have to start preparing for their respective international pageants.

Miss India 2023 Registrations

To register for Miss India 2023, applicants need to follow the steps mentioned below:

• Sign in to the Entertainment Times website’s extension of Beauty Pageants to obtain Miss India 2023 form

• Upload two audition videos of yours, one with an introduction and the second with a ramp walk. Note that each video will have to be under 60 seconds

• Fill out all necessary details, including your Instagram profile, physical attributes, and contact details

• Upload four pictures and nationality and state eligibility proofs

• Subscribe to Times Grooming school from the house of Miss India’s Ace your pageant course

• Proceed to make a payment of Rs. 2,999 plus taxes after registering with your provided email ID on the payment link

• Provide the unique code sent to that email address

• After filling out all fields, accept the T&C to submit your form

Note that prospective candidates will need a close-up photo, a mid-length photo, a no-make-up photo, and a full-length photo to apply.

Further, participants will need to upload scanned copies of their passport, Aadhaar card, voter ID card, or driving licence as proof of nationality and documents like employment or college ID and parents’ residential gas or electricity bill as proof of current and previous state.

Candidates will also need to visit a VLCC Centre to obtain a Height & Fitness Certificate (attested).

Before applying, candidates must also ensure they meet the eligibility criteria, which are as follows:

• Participants must be between 18 and 25 years.

• Participants must have a minimum height of 5’3”.

• Participants must be unmarried.

Additionally, candidates should be abreast of current affairs.

Celebrities

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

PlayAishwarya Rai Bachchan is one of the most popular Miss India alumni with an illustrious acting career.

She came second in Femina Miss India 1994 and then went on to be crowned Miss World 1994 and the “Most beautiful woman in the world.”

Soon after, she began her acting career, debuting with Mani Ratnam’s Iruvar in 1997.

She also debuted in Bollywood the same year with Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya. Rai has earned various accolades over her acting career, including two Filmfare Awards and a Padma Shri award from the Government of India in 2009.

Sushmita Sen

Sushmita Sen was the first Indian woman to win the Miss India title, which she won in 1994 after nabbing the Femina Miss India title at 18 years of age.

She then went on to act in Bollywood films like Biwi No. 1, No Entry, Filhaal…, Aankhen, Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya, and Main Hoon Na. For her role in Biwi No. 1, Sushmita Sen also bagged the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress.

She has also been starring in Aarya, a web series, since 2020.

Zeenat Aman

Zeenat Aman became the first Miss India titleholder to also win an international pageant after securing the Miss Asia Pacific crown in 1970.

Following her victory, Zeenat Aman went on to become one of the most celebrated female actors in Bollywood.

Her early films include Hulchul and The Evil Within, but she broke out as a prominent actor after leading roles in films like Roti, Kapada Aur Makaan, Dharam Veer, Ajnabee, Warrant and Satyam Shivam Sundaram, for which she won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress.

Juhi Chawla

Juhi Chawla won Miss India 1984 at the age of 17, following which she began her acting career.

She debuted with a cameo in Sultanat but had her breakthrough moment with Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, for which she bagged the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut.

She has also starred in films like Ishq, Yes Boss, Darr, Deewana Mastana, and Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke, which won her the Filmfare Award for Best Actress.

She’s presently the owner of the IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders alongside her husband, Jay Mehta, and Shah Rukh Khan.

Schedule

Femina Miss India 2023 has already begun, with the auditions across all five zones, East, Northeast, South, North, and West, and the final audition over. Miss India Grand Finale is scheduled to take place in Imphal in April 2023.

Conclusion

Femina Miss India gives women from pan India an opportunity to present their best selves and talents in front of a national audience.

It also allows talented individuals to go forward onto the international stage, with the top three performers getting a chance to represent India at the Miss World, Miss Earth and Miss International pageants.