Miss India is an annual national beauty pageant competition that selects a representative from India to compete in international beauty pageants like Miss World, Miss Universe, and Miss Grand International.

When did the Miss India pageant start?

The Miss India pageant started in 1952 and has been held yearly since then.

Who is eligible to participate in the Miss India pageant?

Contestants who are female, unmarried, between the ages of 18 and 27, and hold Indian citizenship are eligible to participate in the Miss India pageant.

What are the criteria for judging in the Miss India pageant?

The criteria for judging in the Miss India pageant includes Physical fitness and beauty Confidence and poise, Talent, Interview with the judges.

Who selects the winner of the Miss India pageant?

The winner of the Miss India pageant is selected by a panel of judges who score the contestants based on their performance in the four criteria mentioned above.

What does the winner of the Miss India pageant receive?

The winner of the Miss India pageant receives a crown, a sash, a cash prize, and other prizes. She also gets the opportunity to represent India in international beauty pageants.

How long does the winner of the Miss India pageant hold her title?

The winner of the Miss India pageant holds her title for a year, during which she performs her duties as Miss India and represents the country in international beauty pageants.

Who are some of the famous Miss India winners?

Some of the famous Miss India winners include Sushmita Sen, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra, Lara Dutta, and Dia Mirza, among others. These winners have gone on to have successful careers in Bollywood and become household names in India and worldwide.

Miss India Event, Schedule, History, Winners

Details

Event name	Miss India
Organised by	Femina
Started in	1947
Latest Winner (2022)	Sini Sadanand Shetty (Bangalore)
No. of Editions	71
Headquarters	Mumbai
Type	Beauty pageant
Official language	English, Hindi
Present network	Voot (Viacom18)
Owned by	The Times Group
Owner	Vineet Jain

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

Aishwarya 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.

Miss India Event

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Details

History

Theme

Miss India 2023 Registrations