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| Eram Karim |
The packed Pala banquet at ITC The Sonar was witness to agony and ecstasy in equal measure on Sunday night. For three women, the Dabur Gulabari Sananda Tilottama 2009 finals marked a new beginning. For seven others, there was disappointment for sure but also the awareness that the month-long journey had been one well worth taking, regardless of the outcome.
It was Eram Karim who won the crown, with first-runner-up Shyashree Saikia and second-runner-up Sanghamitra Bhattacharya sharing the stage for the final bows. But before that, there was much drama in store…
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| The girls get ready backstage |
Ramp ready
An hour to go before the curtains went up and the green room resembled a mini-battleground. Bottles of eyeliner, mascara, clothes and brushes lay everywhere as the girls got ready to groove to the introductory dance piece. “Wear your shoes,” cried stylist Sandy, as he tucked a black drape around the waist of one of the contestants. “There will be black halters and black draped skirts with Adi-Kriti jewellery,” he explained. The make-up would be very fresh, said Kopal Verma, national head, VLCC Healthcare Limited. The VLCC team also gave the girls a high-ponytailed look to set off the plunging necklines of the halters.
Before facing the crowd, it was time for a Team Tilottama huddle with mentor Nayanika Chatterjee. “No tension, everyone relax. The stage has been scraped and sand-papered, so there is no way that you are going to trip. Feel happy, look great. Don’t think about anything. Just enjoy,” said the model and grooming expert. She even conveyed her daughter Nayantara’s message: “She has wished you all the best,” smiled the proud mother.
There was nothing, then, between the girls and judgement hour. Some were still tense, others brimming with confidence. “Today I got up in the morning and prayed. I took the blessings of the elders in the family and read the Hanuman Chalisa. I am telling myself that I have to do it,” smiled Sanghamitra.
But not everyone’s prayers could be answered.
Get set...
“Good evening friends, and welcome,” boomed emcee Barry ’Brien a little after 6pm. The dark stage was then illuminated with 10 beauties taking their positions, arms covering their faces. It was during these co-ordinated moves choreographed by Sukalyan Bhattacharya that the audience got their first look of the girls.
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| Minakshi Das in a Sabyasachi sari |
Barry’s co-host for the evening was model-turned-actress Dipannita Sharma, who appeared in a rani pink sari and black blouse. “This is my third year,” she smiled. “Standing next to you makes me feel even bigger,” joked Barry, dressed in a sherwani.
As the lights turned gold against the black and silver stage, the judges for the evening were ushered on to the dais. Director Anurag Basu, Jayanta Roy of Peerless General Finance and Investment Co, actor Jeet, designer Komal Sood, singer Rupam Islam and supermodel Indrani Dasgupta completed the panel this year. Before the show hit full gear, the audience was reminded of how Nayanika had “mothered, sistered and auntied” the 10 girls.
Music and mood
The stage was bathed in purple light as the girls sashayed down for the first round. Sandy had teamed shift dresses by Dev R Nil with silver acrylic bangles and silver hoops. The audience and judges got a closer look as videos about the contestants were aired. From their love for chocolate, chips and getting drenched in the rain to photography, cats and poetry, it was time to get up close and personal.
It left Barry both nostalgic and impressed. “In 13 years of Sananda Tilottama, I can say that these girls are more confident than they were 13 years ago.”
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| Anushka on song |
Singer Anushka Manchanda then set the high-octane mood. In a short glittery dress, she rocked with the groovy Naughty, naughty, Aaj ki raat, Tu saala kam se gaya and Bachna ae haseeno, dedicated to all the men, ending with a loud whistle.
There was an immediate change of gear, with the girls coming out in classic Sabyasachi creations. Gorgeous jute saris with gota borders were teamed with stringy black sleeveless blouses, big black bindis and glass and wooden bangles.
The leggy Anushka came back for more in the form of Ek gilassi, Hare Krishna, hare Ram and Nache nache. She had the audience roaring with laughter as she volunteered to teach some dance steps: “Wash your hair, wash your stomach… swim for your life… smell your armpits and heart attack but not quite!”
Seven wonders
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| Gavin Miguel with contestants in his gowns |
It was then time to narrow the field to seven. Shyashree Saikia, Minakshi Das, Trishita Chakraborty, Moumita Chakraborty, Eram Karim, Deepshika Rao and Sanghamitra Bhattacharya were chosen to face the posers from the judges. This round also held the shocker of the evening: Hot favourite Priti Jana was out of the contest! As were Liza Chakrabarty and Sona Goldar.
But there was no time to regroup as the girls took the ramp in Gavin Miguel gowns in metallic hues. Anurag Basu perhaps had the most interesting questions. “What do you want your future to be decided by — choice, chance or destiny,” he asked Minakshi. “Which soundtrack describes your life best?” was his query to Trishita. Her answer? Bon Jovi’s It’s My Life.
Moumita’s answer drew the loudest applause, in reply to Rupam Islam’s question, “If you are in a relationship that you know won’t work, would you wait for your partner to break up with you or would you be the one to walk away?” Moumita didn’t miss a beat. “If he is wrong, I will punish him. And if he flirts with someone else, I will also flirt,” she smiled.
Final five
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| Priti Jana in the dance sequence |
The last women standing following the Q&A were Shyashree, Trishita, Moumita, Eram and Sanghamitra. They all had two minutes to answer a common poser. “If I were to tell you that you could add two more judges to the panel, which two people would you like to add and why?” read out Barry. While Shyashree came up with “my mom and Nayanika ma’am”, Trishita’s picks would be “Enrique and Petra Nemcova”. Eram’s panel had Sushmita Sen and Vin Diesel; Sanghamitra’s her late father and her mother; Moumita’s Lady Diana and Suchitra Sen.
Winning moment
Just shy of 10pm, it was heart-stopping stress time, as Barry announced that he had the names of the winners. The hush that had descended gave way to peals of laughter as the emcee then announced that he was just joking! A little later, he really had the names. While last year’s second runner-up Tiffany Brewer passed on her title to Sanghamitra Bhattacharya, Ushoshi Sengupta, the first runner-up, passed hers to Shyashree Saikia. And then reigning Tilottama Chirasree Singha Roy crowned Calcutta new queen, Eram Karim. “I knew from day one that I will win,” glowed Eram.
And win she did.
Judges’ verdict
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Rupam Islam: “It was a very challenging task for me, since it is the first time that I have been called upon to judge a beauty pageant.... I didn’t come with any preconceived notion of what I would find.... But I was definitely looking for the intelligence within that adds to beauty. I found some of the girls very professional, very confident, which was setting an example for the other girls, too.”
Jeet: “I have been a judge for this show before and both the quality of the show and the contestants have definitely improved a lot. The contestants were confident and more expressive. I was looking for overall good-looks and talent. I knew Eram was a winner the moment I saw her. I think it is great what Sananda is doing, providing such a huge platform to these newcomers. I also immensely enjoyed the performance of Anushka Manchanda. And of course Barry and Dipannita added a lot to the show with their inimitable style.”
Komal Sood: “It was a fairytale production. It’s even better than last year. The clothes were beautiful. I was looking for an Indianness with international appeal and a soul of Bengal in the contestants and I got more than I had expected from them.”
Anurag Basu: “All my life, the women I have loved have been Bengalis — mother, girlfriends, wife. At Tilottama I thought I would discover a new generation of Bengali women. I find today’s teenagers obsessed with their weight and image, and that puts me off a little. But I found these girls to be full of confidence and very professional. Of course they have a long way to go, if they want to prove themselves on the national platform, but a start has been made.”
Indrani Dasgupta: “It is my first year as a judge at Tilottama. It was a super show, very professional. I was looking for confidence, the ability to connect with the audience, presence of mind…. It takes more than just beauty. The girls are very stage-friendly. It was evident that they had put in a lot of effort. It is true that height may be a problem with some of them, but beyond the ramp, for advertising and print, height is not so important. What you need is a good, proportionate body, which these girls have.”
Jayanta Roy: “The event was organised professionally with a human touch. Each one in the audience enjoyed the evening, which reflected the true culture of Bengal. A glorious moment in every woman’s life.”
know the winners
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Shyashree Saikia
Stays at: Jorhat, Assam.
Age: 18.
Nickname: Sabrina.
Weight: 47 kg.
How much weight have you lost: None at all.
Education: Attended Don Bosco (Jorhat) till Class X. Shifted to DCB College after that and wants to pursue a graduation in English.
Favourite actor: Keanu Reeves.
Favourite actress: Keira Knightley.
Style icon: No one.
Role model: My mom.
Future plans: “I want to complete my studies.”
First feelings: “I am really excited. Though I am a bit disappointed at not having won, this too feels great,” she smiled.
Eram Karim
Stays at: Park Street.
Age: 21.
Nickname: Zaara.
Weight: 52 kg.
How much weight have you lost: “I lost four kgs in a month.”
Education: Went to Loreto House on Middleton Row till Class IX and then Loreto Convent, Ranchi.
Favourite actor: Vin Diesel.
Favourite actress: Kareena Kapoor.
Style icon: Kate Moss.
Role model: Paris Hilton.
Future plans: Acting. “I want to go to Bollywood.”
First feelings: “I knew from day
one that I would win,” came the confident reply.
Sanghamitra Bhattacharya
Stays at: Bijoygarh, Pallisree.
Age: Will turn 20 on July 1.
Nickname: Babi, Bebo and Mamon.
Weight: 54 kg.
How much weight have you lost: three kg.
Education: G.D. Birla Centre for Education till Class XI and then National Institute of Open Schooling.
Favourite actors: Salman Khan, John Abraham, Brad Pitt, Richard Gere and Harrison Ford.
Favourite actress: Kareena Kapoor.
Style icons: Nayanika Chatterjee, Shilpa Shetty and Sushmita Sen.
Role model: My mother.
Future plans: Modelling.
First feelings: “This is the best birthday gift ever!”
Sub-contests
Dabur Gulabari Gulabi Chehra: Shyashree Saikia
Dabur Gulabari Miss Congeniality: Liza Chakrabarty
Dabur Gulabari Miss Personality: Sanghamitra Bhattacharya
Dabur Gulabari Miss Beautiful Skin: Eram Karim
Dabur Gulabari Miss Beautiful Eyes: Deepshika Rao
Dabur Gulabari Innovation In Pink: Sanghamitra Bhattacharya
Dabur Gulabari Miss Photogenic: Eram Karim.
Titan Raga Miss Sensuality: Priti Jana .
VLCC Miss Confident: Trishita Chakraborty (won free services from VLCC and a chance to be the face of VLCC east)
VLCC Miss Perfect 10: Priti Jana (won free services from VLCC and a chance to be the face of VLCC east)
Miss Beautiful Hair: Trishita Chakraborty
Seagram’s Blenders Pride Magical Nights Princess: Eram Karim
Adi-Kriti Miss Bejewelled: Moumita Chakraborty
Apollo Miss Good Health: Eram Karim
Naturoma Herbals Miss Best Groomed: Liza Chakrabarty
Miss Talented: Priti Jana
EverYuth Naturals Priyotama: Minakshi Das
Winner of Swimwear Round: Priti Jana (she won a three-night-four-day stay in Vedic Village)
Audiencespeak
Stylish and upbeat, the audience at the Dabur Gulabari Sananda Tilottama 2009 oohed and aahed when the contestants took the ramp, cheered and clapped when they won, answered any questions that emcee Barry ’Brien threw their way and then even shook a leg with singer Anushka.
Dashing young Zeeshan joined Anushka on the stage when she looked for a volunteer to demonstrate dance moves. Then the 22-year-old Gaurav delighted Barry, and many girls in the audience, when the emcee went looking for a guy to sing a song with ‘gulabi’ as the judges mulled over marks. “Gulabi aankhen jo teri dekhi,” sang Gaurav, winning for himself gifts from Dabur Gulabari.
But the best of the lot were the ladies who took the stage and walked the ramp, when Barry went looking for women dressed in pink. Doctors, teachers, housewives and bank employees stood up in every shade of pink, walked the ramp and claimed their hampers from Dabur.
Finally, after the results were announced, the party continued at Pala, with food, drink and dance to celebrate the crowning of Calcutta’s new beauty queen.
Here’s what the audience had to say:
ABHISHEK DUTTA, DESIGNER: “All of the contestants were very nice. They have improved a lot from the previous years.”
CHANDREYEE GHOSH, ACTRESS: “It was very good. I had participated in Tilottama ages back, but I find that the contest and contestants have improved a lot. They were all very classy.”
DEBLEENA DUTT, ACTRESS: “I think this was the best Tilottama I have attended. I think it is improving every year.”
SONALEE, ACTRESS: “I was a contestant in Tilottama many years ago, so every time I attend this, it is like reliving the past. It was a fantastic evening and I think the contestants were great. We were not so brave.”
APARNA SEN, TEACHER: “It’s my first Tilottama and I enjoyed it. I liked the light and sound. The show was very well organised and I liked the girl who won.”
SHARON KUJUR, BPO EMPLOYEE AND ERAM’S FRIEND: “The show was very well organised and it is amazing the way they have groomed the girls.”
REETA MOHAN, BEAUTICIAN: “There was a very high beauty quotient in the participants.”
MIR, t2 COLUMNIST: “It was an excellent show. All the contestants were very good and it was a tough call to choose from among them. But I was rooting for Eram all through and Eram it was.”
DR SACHIN VARMA, t2 COLUMNIST: “It was a lovely evening. I think the best thing was that they had reduced the number of finalists to 10 this year, so it was more crisp. The girls were very well groomed and Barry was at his best.”
