Crowned Beautiful - fbb Colors Femina Miss India 2017 Grand Finale

Hello beautiful!

Won't you agree with me that every girl is a self proclaimed beauty queen? We all spend a quantum of  time every day in front of mirrors adoring our reflections. It is very important that we never stop doing this ever in life because feeling beautiful is as vital as looking is. I got an opportunity from fbb to witness the most beautiful, talented, brilliant, compassionate and strong minded lady of the nation being crowned as the fbb Colors Femina Miss India 2017.

The stage set for the Grand Finale of fbb Colors Femina Miss India 2017

The event that was held at Yash Raj studios, Mumbai was filled with glitz and glam of the Bollywood industry. With show hosts being the witty and hilarious Karan Johar and Riteish Deshmukh, the evening was a laughter ride for every one in the house. The judging panel was graced by Manish Malhotra, Bipasha Basu, Arjun Rampal, Ileana D'Cruz, Vidyut Jamwal, Abhishek Kapoor and Stephanie Del Valle. They judged the contestants in three rounds and gave us the top 15 first, then top 6 and in the end the top 3 beauties. The night was turned all the more happening by the 4 zone mentors- Neha Dhupia (North Zone), Dipanitha Sharma (East Zone), Waluscha D'Souza (West Zone) and Parvathy Omanakuttan (South Zone). However, what made the night a memorable one was the breath taking performances by Sonu Nigam, Sushant Singh Rajput, Alia Bhat and a surprise entry of Ranbir Kapoor to promote Jagga Jasoos.

 The judges for the Grand Finale

Ranbir Kapoor for upcoming film promotion

There were three rounds that left everyone enthralled with designer wears. The contestants walked the ramp looking ravishing in evening gowns in the colour of red, green, midnight blue, beige, black and copper designed by ace designer Amit Agarwal. The second round of fbb Colors Femina Miss India 2017 was the elimination round from which top 15 were shortlisted. It was the fbb round in which the contestants walked the ramp on the numbers sung live by the melodious Sonu Nigam, flaunting attires designed by Namrata Joshipura. The collection had body con dressed in off shoulders, rompers, bell sleeves, asymmetric hem lines, one shoulders, etc. I absolutely loved the fabulous cuts of this collection. It was indeed all about the cuts and the colours. There was very minimal sequin work which did not take attention away from the beauties wearing them. The girls walked like they owned the stage during this round. All outshining one another. 

fbb round in Namrata Joshipura collection

The last round was one in which the audience was left spell bound. This happens only when the designs of my favourite designer Manish Malhotra take centre stage. It was a mesmerising collection with very dreamy Indian outfits. The girls looked so stunning in those scintillating lehengas and cholis full of intricate detailed work and tassels. Each one of them looked no less than a fairy descended from heaven on Earth to cast their charm. The designs still come in my dreams and they are here to stay for quite a long time. The top 15 contestants were then asked questions by Karan and Ritesh each. One question was to lighten up their nervousness while the other really put their brain to test. It was after this Q & A round that the top 6 were shortlisted. "You have spent 30 days with 30 girls from different states, what learning would you take back?", was the question asked to each one of them while the rest were kept engaged with music in their headphones. Every contestant in the top 6 gave a brilliant answer and proved her place to have reached that spot. However, the judges had to do the most difficult task of choosing the top 3 and they did.

 Top 15 finalists

Top 6 finalists

Manushi Chillar from Haryana, Sana Dua from Jammu & Kashmir and Priyanka Kumari from Bihar were crowned as the top 3 ladies of fbb Colors Femina Miss India 2017. Manushi Chillar would be representing our nation in the Miss World pageant and I have huge hopes from her. I know this girl has it in her to bring back the blue crown to India. I think these three girls really deserved it and were indeed the best of this pageant. 

 Illeana and Bipasha all set to announce the results

Priyanka Kumari 2nd runner up, Manushi Chillar Miss World, Sana Dua 1st runner up (L-R)

I am glad fbb gave me this opportunity to cover this event as a blogger and made me believe in the beauty of my dreams too. It was a dream come true for me to attend it and I came home with some unforgettable memories that I am going to cherish throughout my life. There's no looking back from now on, thanks to the journey of the 30 contestants from 30 states that left me all inspired and motivated. 

Outfit of the night

Throwback to classic styles in fbb Femina Miss India

Hello beautiful ladies!

The fbb Colors Femina Miss India 2017, most awaited beauty pageant of this year is just around the corner and I can't stop thinking what to wear to the event. I have been looking up at former Femina Miss India events to get a hang of which styles have dominated the ramp and set the stage on fire. I happened to pick top 5 looks of Femina Miss India from the last 5 years. The looks are as follows:

1. Femina Miss India 2012

I loved Vanya Mishra's midnight blue outfit during the crowning moment. The colour is super elegant and the sequin work on it is gorgeous enough to die for. I like the way in which it accentuates the shape of her body with those geometric asymmetric stripes. She, as against the usual trend of tieing her hair up into and updo went for open hair look which made her stand out. I like the way this Miss India chose to differ from the rest with her hair style.

Vanya Mishra, Femina Miss India 2012

2. Femina Miss India 2013

Navneet Kaur Dhillon was the winner in this year. I saw the Grand Finale of this year on YouTube and was thrilled by her every look in all the rounds. While she stunned every one in the final round with her gorgeous golden gown, I was intrigued by her outfit in the fbb round. She wore an animal print skater dress with peep toe heels. To draw attention to her tender waist line, she further added a sleek belt. I just love how this timeless this look is. It works even today, 4 years after she was crowned and would definitely work even after a decade. After all, animal prints can never go out of trend. They are the new black.

Navneet Kaur Dhillon, Femina Miss India 2013 

3. fbb Femina Miss India 2014

This year, the beautiful girl from Jaipur, Koyal Rana was crowned as the winner. It was she who represented India in the Miss World pageant that year. She is one of the most beautiful Miss India we have had in this decade. I really wished she should have won the crown of Miss World as I believe she deserved it. During her crowning, she had worn a red gown with sequin detailing in gold. Now, that was a striking dress with a perfect combination. Me being an Aries and red being the colour of Aries, I fell in love at first sight with her dress. The sultry fabric did the job of making her look all the more elegant and sexy.

Koyal Rana, fbb Femina Miss India 2014

4. fbb Femina Miss India 2015

The winning lady this year, was a tall beauty with captivating eyes. She was Aditi Arya! In her final round, she wore a multi colour dress having a mix of purple and blue. The flare of the dress got me drooling over it for a long time. It seemed like an indo western outfit with cuts that make you wonder if it's a saree or a dress. I think a dress like this is quite creative and a must have in your wardrobe girlies.

Aditi Arya, fbb Femina Miss India 2015

5. fbb Femina Miss India 2016

Last year, Priyadarshini Chatterjee, the short hair beauty from Assam was crowned as Miss India. Be it the elegance with which she carried herself in the swimsuit round, the talent with which she interacted with Sharukh Khan, the grace with which she walked, the poise with she stood or the sheer brilliance with which she nailed the question answer round, everything makes her my favourite and hence puts her on this list. She was perfect with her every look in all the rounds. The sheer dress that she wore in the final round is like a dream outfit for me. Her pearl drop earrings, soft wavy hair and fabulous makeup are what make this look my most favourite one. The look is so perfectly balanced out. Nothing is overpowering, everything is simply seamless and flawless about it.

Priyadarshini Chatterjee, fbb Femina Miss India 2016

Out of all of these looks, I gave a try to recreate two of them. While, I would tell you about how I styled them differently, you will have to guess in the comments section which two fbb Femina Miss India looks are these of. That way I will know if I really succeeded in doing them well.

1. Egyptian Goddess

The first look is inspired from the red and gold tones of the Miss India's dress. While I am wearing a simple solid red maxi dress, I gave a twist to the outfit by styling it with chunky gold accessories. The chained choker with Egyptian hand cuff helped me get a royal look. I went for a golden bronze eye look and contrasted it with a bold marsala lip colour. Everything put together helped me bring out the glam quotient that was needed to match that of the Miss India who sported this look.

2. White Leopard

Leopard prints never go out of style. I styled this a line cold shoulder shift dress with my boots to get a chic look like the Miss India who wore it. Instead of pinching my waist with a belt the way she did, I ditched the belt and decided to retain the a line shape of it. The boost are a twist as against her peep toe heels. I left my tresses open and went for a very natural look. I kept any form of chunky jewellery away to keep the look feeling sober and classic. Even the watch I wore was a silver classic with round dial and adorned by ears with silver timeless studs. 

Let me know which one turned out to be the best and the names of the Miss Indias who wore these dresses, chicas!

Let me know which one turned out to be the best and the names of the Miss Indias who wore these dresses, chicas!

fbb Colors Femina Miss India 2017 West Zone Finale

Hello beautiful,

Has it ever happened to you that something you always dreamt about as a kid came true one day? How did that feel? Attending fbb Colors Femina Miss India 2017 West Zone Finale felt exactly the same to me. fbb gave me this golden opportunity to cover the zonal finale exclusively as a blogger. I feel so glad that fbb gave me this chance to witness this grand crowning event for the states of Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan. 12 gorgeous girls selected from the local auditions that took place in the fbb outlets of their respective states contested for the west zone finale. After screening them in three rounds of ramp walk, cocktail, question and answer, top three finalists were selected. These three from every state flew down to Pune at Hyatt Regency and were groomed for the finale. There were ten sub contests in all that were conducted a day prior to the final event. The winners for fbb Colors Femina Miss India West 2017 sub contests are as follows:

1. fbb Miss Talented- Minal Sahu & Prachi Solanki

2. Bata Miss Rampwalk- Gitanjli

3. Dr. Tvacha Miss Refreshing Beauty- Aditi Kallyat

4. Miss Photogenic-  Aditi Hudia

5. Kara Miss Vivacious - Audrey D'silva

6. Triumph Miss Body Beautiful - Audrey D'silva

7. Hyatt Regency Miss Congeniality- Manpreet Kaur

8. Star's Best Makeover -Kezaia Caldeira

9. Olivia Bleach Miss Glowing Skin - Amardeep Kaur Syan 

10. fbb Miss Fashion Icon- Amardeep Kaur Syan

On the day of the event that was held in Hyatt Regency, Pune and hosted by Sachin Kumbhar and Gaelyn Mendonca an esteemed panel of judges was appointed. Adinath Kothare, Srinidhi Shetty, Vijendra Singh, Waluscha D' Souza and Swapnil Shinde did the job of judging and selecting the best beauty from every state. Shibani Kashyap and Gauhar Khan with Salman made the night memorable one with their performances. This time too, there were three rounds but unlike the auditions these were more ramp walk based ones. The first one being 'Modern India' round, all the contestants looked beautiful in indo-western attires designed by designers Alpa & Reena. The scintillating attires made the girls look all the girls look so damn glamorous that it seemed impossible to figure who will make it to the top three. Dressed in sarees, lehengas and dhotis but with a twist, every contestant looked worthy to be crowned that night. 

The next round was the most awaited one as it was from the title sponsor of Miss India 2017 i.e. fbb! The girls looked everything from chic to sassy in Rehan Shah's creations. The designs were a mix of edgy black party outfits to summer fresh floral chic casuals. Their make-up for the black outfits was bold and for the chic ones was peachy with a lot of blush. Hair was done to perfection with gorgeous curls. I must say that this round was the best and it brought the style to the entire event which otherwise would not have been the case without fbb in the picture. It was my personal favourite because it was fashion which you and I could wear and look our bests just as the contestants did. They carried it so well and made me fall in love with the outfits.

The third round was of evening gowns designed by designer Nivedita Saboo. Now, this was the round which had the kind of dresses that looked right out of a queen's wardrobe. Stunning is what the girls looked in them. These gowns were also the ones in which four beauties, one from every state were crowned as winners. 

I got the opportunity to ask each of the winner how did it all feel like and here's what they had to say:

Interestingly they all have names beginning with 'A'. They truly deserved an A grade for their efforts and made the best contestants for the crown that night. I wore two outfits, one was a boho blue dress from fbb that was my OOTD and other was a mesh white top with silver metallic skirt that was my OOTN.

I enjoyed that day so much that I vlogged about it. Stay tuned till it goes live on my YouTube channel very soon!

fbb Colours Femina Miss India 2017 Maharashtra Auditions

Hello beautiful!

Beauty pageants are so fascinating. From the auditions to the crowning moment, I have always enjoyed watching every bit of it. The transformations that they bring about in the ladies who participate are phenomenal. The training, grooming and the entire journey of Miss India brings out the best in these ladies. It helps them get closer to their dreams and also turns those into reality for many. Not only the ones who win benefit, but also those who don't make it to the crown go on to become some well known names in the industry with their outstanding hard work. 

I have always been fond of Miss India and through fbb I got the golden opportunity to be on the guest list for the Maharashtra auditions. If you have read my earlier blog post for the new format of the pageant, you would know that this year there's going to be one lady from every state who would represent her state at the grand finale. Accordingly, top three from Maharashtra were selected by the judging panel out of the 104 contestants. Sushri Shreya Mishra, Rohit Khandelwal, Natasha Grovar and  Madan Mohapatra were on the judging panel. Now the top three of Maharashtra would contest with top 3 from other states of the West Zone mentored by Waluscha and the best one from each state will be selected.

There were three rounds. One was shorts and t-shirts round, second one was cocktail round with questions from the judges and third one was the final one where the contestants were in their fbb attires. The ladies slayed and set the ramp on fire with their killer walks in the first round. They proved they are beauty with brains through the mind-blowing answers that they gave in the Q and A round. Some of them turned out to be extremely strong personalities while some were super hard working. Some were near to perfection and flawless while some were raw, imperfect yet deep down very beautiful.



The judges came up with three names after hours and hours of discussions. It was indeed quite tough to decide the top 3 as almost everyone was worth it. I wonder how the judges arrived at one decision. Meenal Sahu, Aishwarya Devan and Aditi Kallyat were the 3 gorgeous ladies who won the golden ticket to West Zone finale. Who will represent Maharashtra in the grand finale is something that we all need to wait and watch. Till then stay tuned for inside scoop of fbb Colours Femina Miss India 2017.

 (L-R Meenal Sahu, Aishwarya Devan and Aditi Kallyat)

 Meenal Sahu

 Aishwarya Devan

 Aditi Kallyat

 Sushri Shreya Mishra

 Rohit Khandelwal

OOTN