And the Sunsilk Femina Miss India is...

MUMBAI: Delhi girl Nikita Anand, asecond year student of fashion designing at NIFT, was crowned Sunsilk FeminaMiss India-Universe 2003 in a star-studded ceremony at the Goregaon SportsComplex in Mumbai on Friday.Ami Vashi, a financial analyst who has workedin the US and is now with an NGO, was crowned Miss India World and Swetha Vijay,a college student from Mumbai, was named Miss India Earth. The excitementand the celebrations climaxed around these three, who were out to conquer theUniverse, World and Earth.The Goregaon Sports Complex in Mumbai was the cynosure of all eyes- and the centre of all highs. For, glitz and glamour reined supreme on thenight of the Sunsilk Femina Miss India 2003. The evening chill was out of theair and the warmth and cheer exuded by the girls was evident.With the 26lissome beauties putting their best forth, it was a tough battle being foughtand an even tougher choice for the judges to select the three who wouldrepresent India, already a beauty superpower, yet again in the globalarena.The illustrious jury of judges was drawn from varied fields - frombusiness to professional to corporate, entertainment and bureaucracy. Itcomprised Airtel''s Sunil Bharti Mittal, ICICI''s Chanda Kochar, former Ministryof External Affairs Spokesperson Nirupama Rao, film directors Yash Chopra andSanjay Leela Bhansali, Kinetic Engineerings'' Sulajja Firodia Motwani, actorsJackie Shroff and Shilpa Shetty and tennis star Mahesh Bhupathi.Theclinching question, "Forgiveness is better said then done. What do you thinkabout it?", and Nikita''s answer, "To err is human, to forgive divine, and wehave to forgive and move on to make a better life," is what went in her favour,besides her confidence in herself.Celebrating the theme of Women Power orStree Shakti, the evening rolled out an eclectic mix - from the ethnic chic ofthe Khajuraho sarees to the livewire by Shaan and KK.heart throb, Saif AliKhan, enthralled an over-5000-strong engrossed audience. The set was made ofwhat looked like gigantic illuminated polo rings with lights strewn across likestars. Compered by Malaika and Aman Verma, the entertainment-packedevening opened with a performance by Bangalore-based Mayuri and her troupe onthe theme of , introducingthe 26 girls. This was followed by a sizzling act by Malaika Arora on and.The contestants sportedshimmering ranges of sarees, and salwars designed by Shaina NC, Ritu Kumar, Neeta Lulla and RannaGill. When asked if she thought beauty had an international standard, MissIndia World Ami Vashi, said it was, since beauty was all about strength ofpurpose and character. Miss India Earth Swetha said, "India will be one ofthe most powerful countries in the world because of its tradition and heritage,"when questioned about her vision for beauty.The other sub-contest titleholders were Payal as VLCC Miss Personality, Purva Merchant for Indiatimes CyberQueen, Shonal was Miss Perfect 10, Nalini as Sunsilk Miss Beautiful Hair,Sharayu won Miss Photogenic and Beautiful Smile, Deepica was Miss Radio Mirchi,Ami was the Sony My Miss India, Anurithi was crowned Miss Talented, Nupur MissBeautiful Skin and Shonal was MTV Viewers Choice.Culled from overthousands of applicants, the contestants came from varied professionalbackgrounds which included a doctor, a TV actress, a couple of establishedmodels and aspiring bankers. Femina Miss IndiaUniverse: Nikita Femina Miss India World: Ami Femina Miss India Earth: Swetha Indiatimes Cyber Queen: Purva VLCC Miss Personality: Payal Sunsilk Miss Beautiful Strands: Diana Miss Radio Mirchi: Deepica MTV Viewers'' Choice: Shonal Congratulate the winners Official site Femina Miss India E-cards Photo gallery