by Jon A » Thu Dec 24, 2015 8:37 pm
Wings, great thread.
I think the reasons are more simple:
1. Pick the RIGHT girl - it is the selection system that is at fault.
1a) LOOK FOR BALANCE: At it's peak, Miss India worked perfectly because they selected girls with the right BALANCE of attributes -- they had beauty, eloquence, stage presence, confidence, intelligence. I'll take the case of one of our most iconic winners - Lara - she was far from the most beautiful girl at Miss India, but at the same time, she was not only a speaking machine - she was actually pretty and fit. After 2000, they started swinging wildly from side to side picking either the best looking girl or the most well spoken girl. This is NOT the formula, particularly for MW. This year's selection of Aditi is a classic example - confident, very well spoken, but just not pretty enough to merit the main crown! I will say the same with Koyal last year - beautiful, but not confident and articulate enough - they should have picked someone like Nikhila or Ashwati or TJ.
1b) LOOK FOR INTERNATIONAL APPEAL: At its peak, Miss India always had a diverse, international jury. We've had Michael Stich, Cindy Crawford, Marcus Swarovski. Where are all these people now? It's always John Abraham and Shilpa Shetty and Chitrangada Singh. What appeals to Indians is quite different than what appeals to a global audience. Not to say that we must ignore the former, but again, a mix is important. I truly think a more diverse audience would have selected Nicole Faria for example, as Miss India and we WOULD have had our Miss World! The look that works best internationally is the one that is identifiable as typically Indian - Nicole, Natasha Suri, Priyanka Chopra....I think we need to get past this lily white, could be Miss Slovakia look and really pick the girls with the most distinctive features.
1c) FIX THE FORMAT: I would not get rid of the interview. It has been instrumental in getting us the caliber of girls that get to the winner's circle, and India's unique asset is its spirituality and the thoughtfulness its women are able to express. But you need a format that balances it - and in my opinion, the original MW/Miss Universe format is the best - 2 presentation rounds and one interview round to get to the top 5 then a common question. This balances looks, charm/eloquence/intelligence + poise. THAT is a winning formula. SHOW THE SCORES!!!
2: TRAIN THE WINNERS:
This was India (and Venezuela's) unique strength - and in my opinion, the extended training period the MW reps got (as opposed to Miss Universe reps, when Miss Universe was a summer pageant - the girls got only 5 months of prep, the MW reps got a year) was responsible for the better results we got at MW, and this is where things have fallen apart. It is very inconsistent now and varies from girl to girl. It does not have to be dramatic, but it needs to be consistent, and focused. For example, look at Philippines World - they don't get much time but they use it very wisely.
2b) STYLE THEM RIGHT!! I agree with some of the observations about hair and makeup - although I don't think this has been a real problem - most of the girls have turned up looking very good at their pageants - Noyo, even Aditi looked so much better than at Miss India. However, there is no question that when we see the winners POST their reigns, they look so much better - like Sarah Jane or Manasvi...Femina needs to invest in a styling session with the country's top stylists to find the "look" for each winner at her pageant.
2c) DRESS THEM INDIAN!! What is missing is the unique Indian element - the sarees, the lehengas, the jewelery that used to distinguish Miss India from the crowd in the 90s. Now the girls just blend in. they pick all these designers who are trying to cater to a globalizing market, but it fails them in the pageants. Again, not to say that they need to wear bindis and sarees non-stop, but a mix would be nice. The ONLY girl who did this, and managed to stand out for her outfits is Koyal, who had a naturally sophisticated sense of style. Aditi and Urvashi were absolute disasters. I didn't like a single outfit - Aditi's looked so plain and Urvashi's looked hookerlicious. Rocky S was an unqualified disaster, he should never return.
2d) MENTALLY PREPARE THEM: I like the idea of giving the girls psychological training - again, this is something Femina used to do, with the Art of Living courses - they seem to have abandoned that now. But look how it helped girls like Yukta Mookhey shine when it mattered! Bring that back. Pageants are a pressure cooker, and every bit of strength is necessary to survive and shine at the right moment!
And yes, give them exposure - to TV, to events, to speeches - all these build self confidence, composure, presence of mind...the more used you get to the cameras, the stage, the interactions with fans and dignitaries, the better you will actually do all these things at the pageant.
I think we will get our winners soon - we've certainly come close enough with the minor pageants, and just need to stay the course, and hope for a lucky break.