Indian Men Take the World By Storm

Who says beauty contests are JUST for women?

About eight years ago, the Miss India craze was met by the male counterpart.

Indian pageantry is/was run by the three G's: Grasim, Graviera and Gladrags. Many local men's contests run successfully in every corner of India, more often with then without a female counterpart. The male modelling industry has also grown with it, and this has become quite a fiercely competitive field. Entering contests such as Mr. India, Manhunt India and so forth increase one's chances of lucrative modelling contracts, film role offers, and other glamour jobs.
*** Due to a high volume of e-mails, I have added information on entering both competitions at the bottom ***

Maureen Wadia (pictured above) is the brainchild of Indian male pageantry. Her reputation also involves a long, hugely successful run in the female glamour scene. She herself is a big-name socialite, wife of a rich businessman and editor of Gladrags magazine. Manhunt International is an international men's competition run from Singapore by Mr. Alex Liu. Despite many rumors of wrongdoing, it has a decent reputation in the male glamour industry. The contest began in the early 1990's, and with it, Maureen picked up the franchise. The magazine's premiere event is the joint Gladrags Megamodel and Manhunt search, held annually. Maureen has made icons such as Lara Dutta and Lisa Ray into what they are today. Winners such as Dino Morea and John Abraham can now command their careers. As stated by Ms. Wadia herself, the contest takes all the risks and intends to be a true model search. In a daring fashion, contestants have to appear in actual swimwear onstage, the women and men in skimpy bikini's. No potbellies. No drooping behinds. No poor posture. You either show coonfidence or you learn it, based on a special training program to polish contestants on important aspects of joining the glamour world, from dining etiquette to health seminars. The event is televised annually on networks such as Zee Television and Sony Entertainment Television.

In 1995, the first Grasim Mr. India Pageant was held. Going from a small, un-noticed event, now it boasts of a mainstream television broadcast, audiences in the thousands, thousands upon thousands of entries from hopefuls every year, and so forth. Celebrity judges and artists perform at this pageant, and everything is on the up and up. Originally, winners would go to the Mr. World Pageant. Run by the original Miss World organization, the international contest started out at as a very big, fashionable event, but was very sloppy in organization, and only held bi-annual events. India sent winners to the first two, but by the third India was not represented, and the fate of Mr. World is unknown. Today, winners of this contest go to the Mr. International, Mr. Intercontinental and Mr. Tourism International contests.

In 1998, Grasim formed it's own international contest, Grasim Mr. International. With the help of the modelling and fashion industries, it went from a small but professional event to a large competition, with live preliminary events, a large audience in the thousands and more coverage, including a large television production on ZEE TV. The number of countries has grown, and with the organization and interest, will continue to grow in the future. The downside of the pageant has been the excessive home judging, with the pageant already having two Indian winners.

Year	Mr. India	Manhunt India
1994	None	Rajat Bendi
1995	Bikram Saluja	Dino Morea
1996	Sachin Khurana	-
1997	Deepinder Gill	Zulfi Syed
1998	Diwaker Pundir	Balbir Meena
1999	Abhijit Sanyal	John Abraham
2000	Aryan Vaid	Reggie Verghese
2001	Vivan Bhatena	Rajeev Singh
2002	Raghu Mukherjee	Nitin Singh
2003	Rajneesh Duggal	Muzamil Ibrahim
2004	Sunil Mann	Hrishant Goswami

MANHUNT INDIA

Rajat Bendi was the first man to make a splash at the international finals, picking up the Fourth Runner-Up position in 1994 in Australia. It appears that he may have joined the film industry, based on a small role in 'Jodi No. 1' in 2001. His further whereabouts are unknown. The image featured is courtesy of Korea's 'Beauland' web site.

Rajat

Dino

To the left: Dino Morea finished second at the 1995 finals. His oh-so-good looks mesmerize Indian women across the world. He spent time in modelling and music videos, but eventually made a dismal film debut, although he has another project lined up. Gunaah, co-starring his girlfriend Bipasha Basu, did not fare well with Dino in the role of a criminal, but he had the more successful horror thriller "Raaz" opposite Bipasha to his credit. Fun Fact: Dino spent the first 11 years of his life in Italy!

To the right: No contest was held in 1996 for the world finals (Indian winner was?), but in 1997, Zulfi Syed demonstrated the power of Indian men by finishing as Fourth Runner-Up. He has also spent time in print and runaway modelling, in addition to music videos. He made his movie debut with Miss World 1999 Yukta Mookhey in the film "Pyaasa," which unfortunately flopped but showed some of his acting potential.

To the Left: Balbir Meena did not make the final cut in 1998, but he was certainly a big name on the modelling scene. He is a mix of British and Rajasthani, and won Kingfisher's Model of the Year 2001 while appearing in plenty of fashion shows and advertisements. He claimed to have seen the vision of Mary and Jesus Christ in Goa and is now named Isiah, and is married to wife Gladus. He set up a modelling agency to promote Indian male models. He made his debut in a Hindi-English film

To the right: John Abraham made yet another great showing in 1999, emergin as First Runner-Up in the international finals. Hailing from Mumbai, John hosts tv shows on B4U and MTV, and debuted in films, while still working the ramp for money. Fun Fact: John is half-Iranian and half-Catholic and holds his MBA. Image courtesy of Rediff on the Net

To the left: Reggie Verghese was the millenium winner. Although he wasn't so successful in Singapore, he is still popular in the celebrity circuit. Modelling takes up his days, and he comes from a small town in South India (Kerala), although his home base is in Hyderabad. Image courtesy of Reach Out Hyderabad

Rajeev Singh, with a degree in Commerce, hails from Jaipur, the pink city. He won the Manhunt North India zone finals, and then went on to win the Manhunt India finals, and finally he conquered the world in China, where he was named Manhunt International 2001. He has received modelling offers and film roles, and he will pursue both courses. Images courtesy of the Gladrags Web Site and Manhunt 2002 VCD

Nitin Singh from Pune won the 2002 Gladrags Manhunt Contest, presented on Zee TV. He is 25 years old, 1.83 m tall and a professional model. He finished among the semi-finalists of Manhunt International 2002 in Shanghai, P.R. of China, in December 2002. Image courtesy of Metromedia Singapore

Kashmir-originated Muzamil Ibrahim, a complete newcomer to the modelling industry and a Mechanical Engineering student, won the 2003 Manhunt India contest at only 19 years old. This 6' hunk, currently residing in Delhi, was not able to attend the Manhunt International final, as it was cancelled.

Originally from Kashmir, Hrishant Goswami was named Gladrags Manhunt 2004. He was schooled in the U.S. and Nigeria and runs his own marketing company, which promotes medical kits. He is also starting a modelling career. It As the 2004 Edition of Manhunt International was cancelled, it is doubtful he will participate.

Mr. INDIA

Bikram Saluja was Graviera's first guy (1995). He was sent to the first Mr. World contest in Istanbul, Turkey, and amid a spectrum of competitors, Bikram emerged a semi-finalist. He spent time as a model, then music videos, platform plays and now wants to enter the world of films. He played a small role as Karishma Kapoor's love interest in "Fiza"

Sachin Khurana was the second winner of the contest (1996), and he waited until 1998, where he was among 44 good-looking guys vying for the title of Mr. World in a Portguese resort. He did not emerge among the top twelve semi-finalists. He continues his career as a successful print model.

Photo: Grasim Mr. India

Deepinder Gill won the 1997 edition of the contest. Little is kown about him, as he did not go to Mr. World and did not stay in the limelight afterwards.

Diwaker Pundir was the 1998 titleholder of Grasim Mr. India, and he not only ended up as Second Runner-Up at the Mr. Intercontinental Pageant 1998 in Germany, but he also landed among the top Twelve Semi-Finalists at the Grasim Mr. International Contest in his homeland. During the pageant, he stated that he would like to be reborn as himself, and himself only. He has already made a film called "Heartbeat" and has been signed on for another project.

Abhijit Sanyal was elected in 1999. He finished Second Runner-Up at the 1999 Grasim Mr. International Pageant. His grandfather is actor Anup Kumar.

Photo courtesy of IndianCelebs

Aryan Vaid began the millenium with fireworks. He won the contest and the right to go to Mr. International and Mr. World. Runners-Up were Ikram Sandhu of Chandigarh and Ajay Malik of Sonepat. Mr. World was held in Edinburgh, Scotland, but bcause of schedule conflicts, nobody was sent to represent India. On the other hand, Aryan became India's first male titleholder (internationally) as he was elected Grasim Mr. International 2000. The show was held at the Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur and witnessed by a live audience of 5,000. Runners-Up were Mr. China and Mr. Mexico He has worked as a chef, ran his own catering business, spent time as a flight attendant and even acts in plays!
Photo courtesy of Bharat News

Vivan Bhatena, a theater student and also featured in music videos such as "‘Maine Payal Hai Chankayee’ " by Falguni Pathak, won the 2001 Mr. India Contest. Savio Bruto da Costa, also of Mumbai but a Goan at heart, was First Runner-Up, while Vadodara man Kanwaljeet Singh won the second runner-up title. Vivan was a semi-finalist at Mr. International 2001, while Savio Bruto de Costa clinched the First Runner-Up title at Mr. Intercontinental 2001 in Germany.

Photo courtesy of IndiaTimes

Raghu Mukherjee of Bangalore won the 2002 Mr. India contest at the Hilton Golden Palms Resort in Bangalore. Mumbai-ite Jaspal Sehgal, the first turbaned contestant in the history of the contest came second, while Saumik Rao from Ahmedabad was third. Raghu eventually won the Grasim Mr. International contest in Udaipur, while Jaspal won the National Costume Award at Mr. Tourism International in Panama and Saumik finished in the semi-finals of Mr. Intercontinental in Germany.
Photo courtesy of IndiaTimes

On March 22nd, 2003, Rajneesh Duggal of Delhi (23 years old) was named Grasim Mr. India 2003. He finished Third at the Mr. International competition in London. He has done schooling in Don Bosco and a BBA from the APJ School of Management. After that, he pursued a ramp modelling career. Runners-Up were Vikrant Mahajan, who may go to Mr. Intercontinental, and Satyam Shankar Sahai of Lucknow, who may go to Mr. Tourism International.

A farmer's son from Ishwarhaveli in Haryana's Jhajjar district, Sunil Mann won the Grasim Mr. India 2004 Contest. He is currently a physical trainer in Delhi and did not represent India abroad, due to the cancellation of Grasim's Mr. International. Prashant Raj Sachdev from Mumbai and Piyush Vig from Chandhigarh were the runners-up.
Photo courtesy of IndiaTimes

Photo: Grasim Mr. India 2005 The Goregoan Sports Complex in Mumbai hosted the 2005 Grasim Mr. India contest. Viraf Phiroze Patel took top honors, while the First Runner-Up was 21 year-old Kushal Tandon from Mumbai and Second Runner-Up was 19 year-old Karan Hukku from Jaipur. 24-year-old Viraf, an aspiring merchant navy officer studying at Mumbai Maritime Training Institute, is also the reigning Mr. University. It is dobutful he will represent India at any international competitions. Among the judges were ex-Miss India's Priyanka Chopra and Gayatri Joshi.

So You Want To Be Part of The Nation's Top Male Pageants?

Grasim Mr. India

Registration begins in January and February of that year. Approximately 15,000 entries were sent to Grasim Mr. India 2003, of which 400 were called in to participate in regional castings in Delhi, Kalkota, Bangalore and Mumbai. 28 were chosen to meet and participate in the final event.

Requirements: 18 to 30 years old, Indian national above 5'10". You must include 2-3 color photographs. One must be full body and one must be a close-up. Send to: Event Director, Akshara Advertising, 310, Meghdoot94, Nehru Place, New Delhi, 110019. The resume form itself can be saved by right-clicking HERE. Good luck!

Gladrags Manhunt India

Gladrags Manhunt India is usually held in March or April of the year, and on the same lines as Grasim Mr. India, you can participate in zonal finals after sending in your registration. You can do so online by clicking here , if you have a ready photo available on your computer. If not, you must include one close-up and one full-length photo with the entry form, and send it to: 91, Beach Towers, P.Balu Marg, Prabhadevi, Mumbai 400025, INDIA.
Tel: 422 1544 / 436 0009, Fax: 430 2385, E-mail: gladrags@vsnl.com
Registration Fee: 500 Rs.

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Rajat Bendi was the first man to make a splash at the international finals, picking up the Fourth Runner-Up position in 1994 in Australia. It appears that he may have joined the film industry, based on a small role in 'Jodi No. 1' in 2001. His further whereabouts are unknown. The image featured is courtesy of Korea's 'Beauland' web site.
	To the left: Dino Morea finished second at the 1995 finals. His oh-so-good looks mesmerize Indian women across the world. He spent time in modelling and music videos, but eventually made a dismal film debut, although he has another project lined up. Gunaah, co-starring his girlfriend Bipasha Basu, did not fare well with Dino in the role of a criminal, but he had the more successful horror thriller "Raaz" opposite Bipasha to his credit. Fun Fact: Dino spent the first 11 years of his life in Italy!
To the right: No contest was held in 1996 for the world finals (Indian winner was?), but in 1997, Zulfi Syed demonstrated the power of Indian men by finishing as Fourth Runner-Up. He has also spent time in print and runaway modelling, in addition to music videos. He made his movie debut with Miss World 1999 Yukta Mookhey in the film "Pyaasa," which unfortunately flopped but showed some of his acting potential.
	To the Left: Balbir Meena did not make the final cut in 1998, but he was certainly a big name on the modelling scene. He is a mix of British and Rajasthani, and won Kingfisher's Model of the Year 2001 while appearing in plenty of fashion shows and advertisements. He claimed to have seen the vision of Mary and Jesus Christ in Goa and is now named Isiah, and is married to wife Gladus. He set up a modelling agency to promote Indian male models. He made his debut in a Hindi-English film
To the right: John Abraham made yet another great showing in 1999, emergin as First Runner-Up in the international finals. Hailing from Mumbai, John hosts tv shows on B4U and MTV, and debuted in films, while still working the ramp for money. Fun Fact: John is half-Iranian and half-Catholic and holds his MBA. Image courtesy of Rediff on the Net
	To the left: Reggie Verghese was the millenium winner. Although he wasn't so successful in Singapore, he is still popular in the celebrity circuit. Modelling takes up his days, and he comes from a small town in South India (Kerala), although his home base is in Hyderabad. Image courtesy of Reach Out Hyderabad
Rajeev Singh, with a degree in Commerce, hails from Jaipur, the pink city. He won the Manhunt North India zone finals, and then went on to win the Manhunt India finals, and finally he conquered the world in China, where he was named Manhunt International 2001. He has received modelling offers and film roles, and he will pursue both courses. Images courtesy of the Gladrags Web Site and Manhunt 2002 VCD
	Nitin Singh from Pune won the 2002 Gladrags Manhunt Contest, presented on Zee TV. He is 25 years old, 1.83 m tall and a professional model. He finished among the semi-finalists of Manhunt International 2002 in Shanghai, P.R. of China, in December 2002. Image courtesy of Metromedia Singapore
Kashmir-originated Muzamil Ibrahim, a complete newcomer to the modelling industry and a Mechanical Engineering student, won the 2003 Manhunt India contest at only 19 years old. This 6' hunk, currently residing in Delhi, was not able to attend the Manhunt International final, as it was cancelled.
	Originally from Kashmir, Hrishant Goswami was named Gladrags Manhunt 2004. He was schooled in the U.S. and Nigeria and runs his own marketing company, which promotes medical kits. He is also starting a modelling career. It As the 2004 Edition of Manhunt International was cancelled, it is doubtful he will participate.

	Bikram Saluja was Graviera's first guy (1995). He was sent to the first Mr. World contest in Istanbul, Turkey, and amid a spectrum of competitors, Bikram emerged a semi-finalist. He spent time as a model, then music videos, platform plays and now wants to enter the world of films. He played a small role as Karishma Kapoor's love interest in "Fiza"
Sachin Khurana was the second winner of the contest (1996), and he waited until 1998, where he was among 44 good-looking guys vying for the title of Mr. World in a Portguese resort. He did not emerge among the top twelve semi-finalists. He continues his career as a successful print model.
Photo: Grasim Mr. India	Deepinder Gill won the 1997 edition of the contest. Little is kown about him, as he did not go to Mr. World and did not stay in the limelight afterwards.
Diwaker Pundir was the 1998 titleholder of Grasim Mr. India, and he not only ended up as Second Runner-Up at the Mr. Intercontinental Pageant 1998 in Germany, but he also landed among the top Twelve Semi-Finalists at the Grasim Mr. International Contest in his homeland. During the pageant, he stated that he would like to be reborn as himself, and himself only. He has already made a film called "Heartbeat" and has been signed on for another project.
	Abhijit Sanyal was elected in 1999. He finished Second Runner-Up at the 1999 Grasim Mr. International Pageant. His grandfather is actor Anup Kumar. Photo courtesy of IndianCelebs
Aryan Vaid began the millenium with fireworks. He won the contest and the right to go to Mr. International and Mr. World. Runners-Up were Ikram Sandhu of Chandigarh and Ajay Malik of Sonepat. Mr. World was held in Edinburgh, Scotland, but bcause of schedule conflicts, nobody was sent to represent India. On the other hand, Aryan became India's first male titleholder (internationally) as he was elected Grasim Mr. International 2000. The show was held at the Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur and witnessed by a live audience of 5,000. Runners-Up were Mr. China and Mr. Mexico He has worked as a chef, ran his own catering business, spent time as a flight attendant and even acts in plays! Photo courtesy of Bharat News
	Vivan Bhatena, a theater student and also featured in music videos such as "‘Maine Payal Hai Chankayee’ " by Falguni Pathak, won the 2001 Mr. India Contest. Savio Bruto da Costa, also of Mumbai but a Goan at heart, was First Runner-Up, while Vadodara man Kanwaljeet Singh won the second runner-up title. Vivan was a semi-finalist at Mr. International 2001, while Savio Bruto de Costa clinched the First Runner-Up title at Mr. Intercontinental 2001 in Germany. Photo courtesy of IndiaTimes
Raghu Mukherjee of Bangalore won the 2002 Mr. India contest at the Hilton Golden Palms Resort in Bangalore. Mumbai-ite Jaspal Sehgal, the first turbaned contestant in the history of the contest came second, while Saumik Rao from Ahmedabad was third. Raghu eventually won the Grasim Mr. International contest in Udaipur, while Jaspal won the National Costume Award at Mr. Tourism International in Panama and Saumik finished in the semi-finals of Mr. Intercontinental in Germany. Photo courtesy of IndiaTimes
	On March 22nd, 2003, Rajneesh Duggal of Delhi (23 years old) was named Grasim Mr. India 2003. He finished Third at the Mr. International competition in London. He has done schooling in Don Bosco and a BBA from the APJ School of Management. After that, he pursued a ramp modelling career. Runners-Up were Vikrant Mahajan, who may go to Mr. Intercontinental, and Satyam Shankar Sahai of Lucknow, who may go to Mr. Tourism International.
A farmer's son from Ishwarhaveli in Haryana's Jhajjar district, Sunil Mann won the Grasim Mr. India 2004 Contest. He is currently a physical trainer in Delhi and did not represent India abroad, due to the cancellation of Grasim's Mr. International. Prashant Raj Sachdev from Mumbai and Piyush Vig from Chandhigarh were the runners-up. Photo courtesy of IndiaTimes
Photo: Grasim Mr. India 2005	The Goregoan Sports Complex in Mumbai hosted the 2005 Grasim Mr. India contest. Viraf Phiroze Patel took top honors, while the First Runner-Up was 21 year-old Kushal Tandon from Mumbai and Second Runner-Up was 19 year-old Karan Hukku from Jaipur. 24-year-old Viraf, an aspiring merchant navy officer studying at Mumbai Maritime Training Institute, is also the reigning Mr. University. It is dobutful he will represent India at any international competitions. Among the judges were ex-Miss India's Priyanka Chopra and Gayatri Joshi.