Some dreams do come true

Asish Samanta / TNN / Mar 21, 2006, 00:31 IST

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This batch of contestants was heralded as the finest one so far.

This batch of contestants was heralded as the finest one so far.
But there have to be some firsts among equals... Presenting the winners of the Pond's Femina Miss India (PFMI) 2006.
This one was surely unusual. No tears, no mouths agape, no bewildered looks... but a victorious whoop of joy, a springy stride and a jig that was Neha Kapur's reaction when she was announced the winner of the Pond's Femina Miss India 2006 contest.
Epitomising what it takes to be a self-assured, confident, contemporary and beautiful Indian woman who belongs to the world.

"Ha! My reaction was completely like a footballer scoring a goal, though I think I should have acted more sanely. You won't believe it, but I thought I had given a stupid answer!
I was sure I wouldn't bag this one, because everybody's answers were so much better than mine. And then they called out my name! I should have been graceful.
It was a little later that I asked myself, 'did I just do that?' Hey, though I acted like a complete fool on stage, it was a lot of fun!" says Neha Kapur, Pond's Femina Miss India-Universe 2006.

"Number 13, unlucky for some, but lucky for you," joked R Madhavan, the host for the evening. Contestant number 13, Natasha Suri from Mumbai, surely was lucky to get her new title, Pond's Femina Miss India-World 2006!
"My bigger victory is that the other 24 girls who were competing had tears of joy for me. After I won, they exclaimed, 'Natasha, you deserve it. If not us, we would wish only you win'."
For Natasha, who dreamt of participating in the contest and winning the crown all her life, the fact that she is actually wearing the winner's crown has yet to sink in. "Right now, what I really want to do is to be with my family," she pines.
Amruta Patki, Pond's Femina Miss India-Earth 2006, was unsure till the last moment whether she should send her pictures for the pageant or not. "I really wanted to win.
Eventually, I made up my mind, sent my pictures, and here I am, a winner! All the girls were fabulous. We won this pageant because we are plain lucky."
This year, the final question had a Bollywood element to it. And with last year's winners gearing up to make their debut in films soon, what are the winners' dreams?
Says Neha, "It will be great if I join Bollywood, but right now I need to focus on a lot of other things. When the time comes, everything will fall in place. For now, I am focussing on this title and its responsibilities."
Natasha, on the other hand, hasn't given Bollywood a thought as yet. "It would be a lie if I said I don't want to be part of the film industry. This contest has opened so many doors of opportunities for me.
But at this moment, I am not too sure about what I want to do next. Actually, I don't even know what I want to do tomorrow!"
So, what next for the winners? "PIZZA!" they cry in unison.

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