The Gladrags Manhunt and Megamodel Contest is an annual unisex pageant conducted by the Indian Gladrags magazine. The most appealing male and female models are selected and promoted by the magazine.
They first conduct a round of selection from the regions and then post all the elimination rounds for the final contestants. The group undergoes training including physical fitness, grooming, catwalk, diction and speech.
Gladrags Manhunt Contest
History The Gladrags Contest is an annual modeling event established in the early 1990s by Maureen Wadia, wife of industrialist Nusli Wadia, who owns Bombay Dyeing, one of India's oldest textile companies. Initially started to support Bombay Dyeing's promotional efforts, Maureen Wadia created the Gladrags magazine, which functioned both as a fashion publication and a men's magazine, featuring swimsuit images of models. The contest later expanded to include Mrs. India and Little Miss and Master contests.
The contest provided Bombay Dyeing with a source of models for its products, including bath and bed linens, while winners gained visibility that could launch careers in modeling or film. Unlike other beauty pageants, Gladrags contest was notable for its focus on the swimsuit round, with winners often featured on the magazine cover.
The first Gladrags Manhunt Contest India was held in 1994. Rajat Bedi of Punjab was the first winner. He represented India at Manhunt International 1994 held in Greece and was fourth runner up.
At the 2017 contest was held at the Mahalaxmi Racecourse in Mumbai In the Little Miss & Master India Pageant, Mishika Sonkar and Shaurya Saraswat won the juniors’ division, and Tithi Surti and Nikhil Chhabria won in the seniors’ category. Arni Sapkal won the Mrs. India Mumbai title, and Hina Azad and Bobby Vij were named winners of the Megamodel Manhunt Mumbai pageant.
International achievements In 2001, Rajeev Singh of Rajasthan became the first Asian and Indian to win the Manhunt International contest. He also won two sub-awards at the contest including Sharmoon Best Dressed Gentleman Award and Best in National Costume.
India has produced many runners-up at the pageant, most notably Dino Morea, Zulfi Syed and John Abraham, all of whom have since established themselves in the Bollywood industry. The contest has also given India some of the finest models ever seen by Indian fashion industry like supermodel Muzamil Ibrahim, actor and model Sidharth Shukla, model Farhad Shahnawaz, actor and model Abhimanyu Jain, 4th runner up Manhunt International 2006 and Arry Dabas, semifinalist in 2012. Other notable winners include Romeo Gates, Ahran Chaudhary and Ravi Awana.
In 2005, Sidharth Shukla, runner-up of Gladrags Manhunt 2004, represented India at the Best Model Of The World contest held in Turkey and became the first Indian to win the title. Later Shukla became a model in India and starred in Bollywood films.
Winners of Gladrags Manhunt India YearWinnerStateRef1994 Kelly Dorji, Rishabh Loomba, Rajat Bedi Punjab1995 Dino Morea Karnataka1996-97Zulfi SyedKarnataka1998Tarun AroraAssam1999 John AbrahamMaharashtra2000 Regi VergheseHyderabad2001Rajeev SinghRajasthan2002 Nitin SinghMaharashtra2003Muzamil IbrahimJammu and Kashmir2004Hrishant GoswamiNew Delhi2005Pawan SetpalMaharashtra2006Abhimanyu JainRajasthan2007Romeo GatesLondon2008Karan AmbardarNew Delhi2009Prateek BalharaHaryana2010Aaran ChaudharyUttar Pradesh2011-12Sam KapoorLondon, UK2013-14Ravi AwanaUttar Pradesh2016-17Ansh DuggalNew Delhi
Representatives to Manhunt International The winner of the Gladrags Manhunt represents India at Manhunt International, but if for any reason the winner is unable to compete then a runner up is sent to the pageant. Year Representative State Ranking Special awards1994Rajat BediPunjab1995Dino MoreaKarnataka1997Zulfi SyedKarnataka1998Balbir MeenaRajasthan1999John AbrahamMaharashtra 2000 Regi VergheseHyderabad2001Rajeev SinghRajasthan2002Nitin SinghMaharashtra2005 Pawan SetpalMaharashtra2006Aryan Baruah2007Vivian Dsena UjjainTop 10 Finalist2007Abhimanyu JainRajasthan2008Romeo GatesLondon2010Ahran ChaudharyUttar Pradesh2011 Shashvath SethMaharashtra2012Arry DabasKarnataka2014Gaurav KumarNew Delhi
Representatives to Best Model of the World The winner of the Gladrags Manhunt represents India at the Best Model of the World contest, but if for any reason the winner is unable to compete then a runner up is sent to the pageant. Year Representative State Ranking Special awardsRef.2000Shabbir AliKarnataka2001 Abhinav GautamMaharashtra2002Vijay BalharaMaharashtra2003Ganesh VenkatramanMaharashtra2005Sidharth ShuklaMaharashtra2006Abhimanyu JainRajasthan2007Romeo GatesLondon2009Prateek BalharaMaharashtra
Photographs of some notable winners of Gladrags Manhunt Contest
Gladrags Mega model Contest
History The first Mega model contest was held in 1994, and girls all across the country competed for the coveted title. Shweta Menon of Kerala was declared the winner.
Lara Dutta later established herself as a leading Bollywood actress.
Winners year Winner Age Height State CountryRef1994Shweta MenonKeralaIndia1995Lara Dutta 16 KarnatakaIndia1996Aditi Gowitrikar 22 MaharashtraIndia1997-98 Tora Khasigar 17 AssamIndia 1999 Aanchal Kumar 19 PunjabIndia2000Candice Pinto19MaharashtraIndia2001Koena Mitra16MaharashtraIndia2002Mugdha Godse16MaharashtraIndia2003Deepti Gujral 17MaharashtraIndia2004Deepa Chari19MaharashtraIndia2005Niki D Souza20MaharashtraIndia2006Arti Sharma23HaryanaIndia2007Mahima Chaudhary17PuneIndia2008Payal Tarafdar 20AssamIndia2009Ankita Mohapatra23OdishaIndia2010Arshina Trivedi21LondonUnited Kingdom2011-12Sakshi Chaudhary19New DelhiIndia2013-14Charlotte Claire23 MumbaiIndia20152016-17Karuna Singh20ChandigarhIndia
Representatives to Miss Intercontinental The winner of Gladrags Mega model represented India at Miss Intercontinental from 1997 to 2003. Earlier Femina Teen Princess held the franchise of Miss Intercontinental pageant in India. From 2011, Indian Princess holds the franchise of Miss Intercontinental in India. Year Representative State Ranking Special awards1997Lara DuttaKarnataka1998Tora KhasigarAssam1999Aanchal KumarPunjab2001Koena MitraMaharashtra2002Rakhee ChaudharyKarnataka2003Deepti GujralMaharashtra
Representatives to Miss Tourism International The winner of the Gladrags Mega model contest represented India at Miss Tourism International contest, but if for any reason the winner was unable to compete then a runner up was sent to the pageant. Earlier Femina Miss India held the franchise of Miss Tourism International pageant in India. From 2011 Indian Princess holds the franchise of Miss Tourism International in India. Year Representative State Ranking Special awards2001Candice PintoMaharashtra2002Tejinder KaurNew Delhi2003Deepa ChariMaharashtra2004Parul ChaudhryMaharashtra2005Shriya SinghPunjab2009Anousha ChauhanNew Delhi2010Mahima ChaudharyPune
Representatives to Miss Tourism Queen International Year Representative State Ranking Special awards2004Zabina KhanMaharashtra2005Neha OberoiMaharashtra2006Rupali SuriMaharashtra2007Mahima ChaudharyMaharashtra2008Devyani MandavganeMaharashtra
Representatives to Miss Tourism Queen of the Year International Year Representative State Ranking Special awards 2005Roopa Howaldar 2004Amanpreet Kaur WahiPunjab
Representatives to Best Model of the World The winner of the Gladrags Mega model contest represented India at Best Model of the World contest, but if for any reason the winner was unable to compete then a runner up was sent to the pageant. Year Representative State Ranking Special awards2000Jacqueline D’souzaKarnataka2001Zinobia BoochaNew Delhi2002Mugdha GodseMaharashtra2003Deepa ChariMaharashtra2006Aarti SharmaHaryana2007Mahima ChaudharyMaharashtra2008Payal TarafdarAssam2009Ankita MohapatraOdisha
References
External links Gladrags Megamodel Manhunt