Before I begin, since I have stayed in Mumbai for a better part of my life, i would like to use my right to bash Pune. Traveling in Pune is like pre-pageant activities of Miss World, its old-school, boring and takes forever to end. Kidding aside, after nearly two hours of ‘Pune Darshan’ in a shared cab I finally reached the venue. I was very excited because this wasn’t just a season finale of Miss TGPC. It was also a get-together of TGPC members, many of whom stay in different parts of the country.
The event was being held at Pub Le City in Hadapsar, Pune. The venue was legit! The industrial themed lighting and furniture at the venue was adding to the style quotient of the event. The contestants were busy in rehearsals and TGPC members were busy organising the event. I could see Bhairavi Burad in one corner surrounded by her fans while Nehal Chudasama on another side preparing for the hosting duties. There was Dipak Shahi, aka Desi Osmel Sousa, running around making sure everything is under control and then there were some people just trying to figure out who is Andreas Sarkar and is he really from South Sudan, which they finally found out yesterday.
After some initial delay, show was about to start. The hot and sunny weather may have turned down the energy of the audience but the excitement was still soaring high. The show began with a moving speech by Bhairavi Burad. In an emotional recap of her journey at Miss TGPC, she perfectly summed up what this platform means to everyone who is associated with it. Now it was the time for the first round of the competition. The contestants slayed the runway in beautiful cocktail dresses by Busy Bee. The dresses were extremely chic and perfect for each girl’s individual personality. Hair and makeup by Shweta Tripathi and Shilpi Verma was just as amazing. This was followed by a brief introduction of the contestants.
Beauty queens talk with their eyes and we got a live demonstration of the same during the dance performance by Agrima Grover. Her performance on the evergreen song ‘ Piya tose naina lage’ was simply mesmerizing. Just as we thought the event couldn’t get any better, contestants came back on the runway in their fabulous evening gowns. All the girls walked the runway with such elegance and poise; we were spellbound throughout the round. The last round of the competition was of course the question and answer round. Although some girls seemed a bit nervous, all of them gave sensible answers. When one of them was asked ‘if a Genie grants you wishes, what will you wish for?’. She promptly responded ‘I wish Miss India would lower the height criteria so that I can compete’. This really shows the sheer love these girls have for pageants.
The finale was a nail-biter from the start to end. After several rounds of intense competition it was time for the results. Agrima Grover took home the Catwalk Diva subtitle. Yukta Upadhyay was adjudged the 2nd runner-up. The heavy fan favourite contestants Adline and Pradnya were the top 2 contestants. Following the tradition of announcing the results in reverse order, the Andreas announced Pradnya Motghare as the 1st runner-up and a loud cheer erupted from the crowd. We had found our new queen and she was none other than Adline Castelino.
On a side note there is something I really admire about Adline. While we were back stage Adline was constantly practicing her walk and poses. She was utilising every minute available for getting things right and these efforts reflected in her performance. Pradnya and Yukta also exceeded all the expectations.
After a long journey, the fourth season of Miss TGPC concluded with a bang. There’s no doubt that an amazing future is at the doorsteps of our contestants. To the contestants of Miss TGPC Season 4, I would like to say – No matter whether you won or lost, you will always be a ‘TGPC ki beti’. Stay determined and dream big. We will be cheering for you in all your future endeavours.
Picture Credits: Charudatta Kale
Author: Jinendra Aherkar.