The deck of Floatel — the floating hotel on Strand Road — was the scene of some serious action on Friday afternoon as the 10 finalists of Streax Unish Kuri Glam Hunt ’08 slipped into swimgear to scorch it out for the title of Miss Glam Body and Mr Glam Body.

While the girls got to play around with more colours, courtesy the rainbow-hued bikinis and brightly-painted eyes and lips, it was basic black trunks for the boys, all courtesy FM Designers.

Bottles of oils were emptied as the PYTs and the hunks rubbed themselves aglow before taking the makeshift ramp where the three judges — hotbod Sanjukta Das, singer Neepabithi Ghosh and actor Rrishii Kaushik — were to mark them. Some of the boys even engaged in a few quick rounds of push-ups, to ease the nerves and look their sculpted best.

It was also testing time for their mentor — ramp-scorcher Shonal Rawat — who has been grooming these young contestants for the big night on September 27. “Today is the fifth day of the grooming session. This time we are getting more days as compared to last year’s schedule where we got only 10 days. Initially, we started with the basic walk. Then we worked on their expressions; most did not know how to hold an expression. I also spoke to them about rhythm and poise and I plan to teach them how to model accessories and the difference between a regal and a casual walk…. I don’t know how many will take up modelling in the future. So, I want this to be more of a finishing school,” smiled Shonal, looking ravishing in a striped green strappy top and short denim skirt (picture right).

Both the boys and the girls got an average of 8.5 out of 10 from Shonal when it came to their bodies. Praise, however, came with a peeve point. “My previous batch was more quick to catch on. This batch is really lax,” she rued.

Lessons over, it was time for the contestants to flaunt it in style. All 10 sashayed down the upper deck staircase to some pulsating music; they posed and pouted with the river as the backdrop. “We marked them on their body, expression and overall carriage,” said Sanjukta.

Afsar Ali and Tilottama Dutta were the eye-catchers of the afternoon. “I was really feeling nervous before it began. This was the first time I was wearing a bikini and my heels were slipping. Now, I can breathe a little easy,” smiled Tilottama, the 18-year-old from Salt Lake.

Swimsuit must-haves with Shonal

• Definitely a good body — great legs and flat abs.
• The confidence to carry off a swimsuit — it must show on your face.
• Poise and grace.

What kept the glam gang busy

• 8am to 10am: Gymming at Gold’s Gym (Chowringhee)
• 10.30am to 5.30pm: Session with Shonal at Floatel
• 5.30pm to 7pm: Dance with Padatik

Bite right

Say goodbye to biryani and phuchkas! All finalists are surviving on healthy bites like poultry eggs, stew, boiled vegetables and dal.

Which celebrity do you think has the perfect bikini body? Tellt2@abpmail.com