India’s film industry, Bollywood, is known as the second biggest film industry in the entire world next to Hollywood. As such the influence of Bollywood and Indian cinemas is quite prevalent over the Indian masses. India’s glory in pageantry was matchless in 90’s and early 2000’s, wherein India won four Miss World, two Miss Universe besides winning countless minor pageants and runner up spots in the span of six years. No country has yet achieved the feat of winning both Miss World and Miss Universe crowns in the same year twice. While the Miss India judging panel of bygone era was quite venerable, the present judging panel of Miss India seems to invite more popularity than quality.

While Indian beauty queens are certainly a league of their own, there is no doubt that the present team of trainers and directors are paying no attention to the changed pageant criteria. The pageant enthusiasts still wonder what would have been the result if Vanya Mishra, Parvathy Omanakuttan, Manasi Moghe and Koyal Rana were trained by more professional grooming experts.

Also Read; India's Diminishing Powerhouse Status

The finale night seems more like a Bollywood award show where the judging panels comprises of all the famous actors and actresses. The pageant fanatics around the world wonder that despite of having an abundant list of international beauty queens, why aren’t the past titleholders along with past international winners invited to grace the judging panel? Similarly, the Miss India organization hardly invites the reigning international queens in the finale.

In the last 15 years, the graph of India’s performance has been taking thunderous twirls and turns at Miss Universe and Miss World. India has successfully managed to place at both the pageants quite frequently, also adding up various runner ups to its accolades but the quest for the crown is still ongoing.

The expectation level from India is apparently high because they are the giant powerhouse of the not so early era, whereby they have managed to bag five Miss World crowns, two Miss Universe crowns and one Miss Earth crown besides winning many other noteworthy pageants like Miss Asia Pacific, Miss Supranational and Miss Tourism International.

The finale is not purely based on judging the walk of the contestants in their swimsuit and evening gowns, and the finalists are randomly called up which puts a question mark on the transparency of the selection criteria. Also, the final question and answer round seems more playful and mischievous rather than focusing on graver and bolder issues.

If the Miss India Organization invites the living legends like Sushmita Sen, Aishwarya Rai, Dia Mirza, Yukta Mookhey, Diana Hayden, Priyanka Chopra and Lara Dutta (though she is mentoring the Miss Universe India delegates since last two years, she might also be invited to attend the Miss World India finale as a jury) no force can stop India’s delegates from getting polished and shining like a diamond. The actors who are superstars of the cinema world are though respectable and esteemed but are unaware about the intricacies of pageant world.

Similarly, if Miss India World is selecting a delegate she should be judged on the basis of Top Model Round and Sports Round which are the key rounds at Miss World pageant besides the Beauty with a Purpose event, which the organization has already initiated since last few years. On the other hand, when it comes to Miss Universe India, delegates should be thoroughly exposed to the closed door interviews besides giving extensive attention to the photoshoots which involve headshots, evening gown portraits, swimsuit portraits and a glam shot. The Miss Universe India delegates should undergo a keen and thorough competition of rampwalk in both swimsuit and evening gown, which might give a clear idea of girl’s stage presence which is the most decisive factor of judging a Miss Universe delegate.

The media buzz for the pageants in India should be broadened so that the people can connect with their representatives more often. In India, there are hardly any press conferences for the Miss India winners, which make them unexposed to pressures of paparazzi and the techniques to handle media with poise and confidence.

Also Read; Sushmita Sen, a Dawn for Indian Pageantry

The precise make-up and styling lessons along with the management of stress level is not proffered to the delegates effectively. Also, the rampwalk pace and style for both swimsuit and evening gown is not demarcated by the trainers, and hence the delegates are seen quite uncomfortable as they project themselves on the runway in different segments. The communication trainers also are quite inadequate in their instructions and the delegates through their fake and exaggerated accent more often come across as one what they are not in reality. The definition of classiness and sassiness has changed in present era and the organization needs to pay attention over the altered scenario, working accordingly over the same.

India is indisputably the powerhouse of pageants, it just needs to go in safer hands and learn from the past mistakes in order to restore its status. The management of team needs a huge makeover, and if it the loopholes are covered, the giant powerhouse can surely wake up from the sleep.