Gladrags Manhunt and Megamodel Contest explained

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.^[1]

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.^{[2] [3]} 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 Gladrags Manhunt and Megamodel Contest, organized by the magazine, quickly became popular, later expanding to include additional competitions like Mrs. India and Little Miss and Master contests.

The contest provided Bombay Dyeing with a steady 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.^[4] Rajat Bedi of Punjab was the first winner. He represented India at Manhunt International 1994 held in Greece and was awarded 4th Runner Up in the finale.

At the 2017 event held at the Mahalaxmi Race Course in Mumbai, winners across various categories were crowned.^[5] For the Little Miss & Master India Pageant, Mishika Sonkar and Shaurya Saraswat won in the juniors’ division, while 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.^[6] He also won two sub-awards at the contest including Sharmoon Best Dressed Gentleman Award and Best in National Costume. After his victory he established himself in the Indian fashion industry as a successful model.

India has produced many runners-up at the pageant, most notably Dino Morea,^[7] Zulfi Syed^[8] and John Abraham,^[9] all of whom have since established themselves in the Bollywood industry.^[10] The contest has also given India some of the finest models ever seen by Indian fashion industry like supermodel Muzamil Ibrahim,^[11] 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,^[12] 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 famous model in India and star in the Indian film industry.^{[13] [14] [15] [16]}

Winners of Gladrags Manhunt India

Year	Winner	State	Ref
1994	Kelly Dorji, Rishabh Loomba, Rajat Bedi	Punjab	[17]
1995	Dino Morea	Karnataka
1996-97	Zulfi Syed	Karnataka	[18]
1998	Tarun Arora	Assam
1999	John Abraham	Maharashtra
2000	Regi Verghese	Hyderabad
2001	Rajeev Singh	Rajasthan
2002	Nitin Singh	Maharashtra
2003	Muzamil Ibrahim	Jammu and Kashmir
2004	Hrishant Goswami	New Delhi	[19]
2005	Pawan Setpal	Maharashtra
2006	Abhimanyu Jain	Rajasthan	[20]
2007	Romeo Gates	London
2008	Karan Ambardar	New Delhi	[21]
2009	Prateek Balhara	Haryana
2010	Aaran Chaudhary	Uttar Pradesh
2011-12	Sam Kapoor	London, UK
2013-14	Ravi Awana	Uttar Pradesh
2016-17	Ansh Duggal	New 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.

width=63	Year !	width=200	Representative !	width=200	State !	width=250	Ranking !	width=300	Special awards
1994	Rajat Bedi	Punjab
1995	Dino Morea	Karnataka
1997	Zulfi Syed	Karnataka
1998	Balbir Meena	Rajasthan
1999	John Abraham	Maharashtra
2000	Regi Verghese	Hyderabad
2001	Rajeev Singh	Rajasthan
2002	Nitin Singh	Maharashtra
2005	Pawan Setpal	Maharashtra
2006	Aryan Baruah
2007	Abhimanyu Jain	Rajasthan
2008	Romeo Gates	London
2010	Ahran Chaudhary	Uttar Pradesh
2011	Shashvath Seth	Maharashtra
2012	Arry Dabas	Karnataka
2014	Gaurav Kumar	New 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.

width=63	Year !	width=200	Representative !	width=200	State !	width=250	Ranking !	width=300	Special awards	Ref.
2000	Shabbir Ali	Karnataka
2001	Abhinav Gautam	Maharashtra			[22]
2002	Vijay Balhara	Maharashtra
2003	Ganesh Venkatraman	Maharashtra
2005	Sidharth Shukla	Maharashtra			[23] [24]
2006	Abhimanyu Jain	Rajasthan
2007	Romeo Gates	London
2009	Prateek Balhara	Maharashtra

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	Country	Ref
1994	Shweta Menon			Kerala	India	[25]
1995	Lara Dutta[26]	16		Karnataka	India
1996	Aditi Gowitrikar	22		Maharashtra	India
1997-98	Tora Khasigar	17		Assam	India
1999	Aanchal Kumar	19		Punjab	India
2000	Candice Pinto	19		Maharashtra	India
2001	Koena Mitra	16		Maharashtra	India
2002	Mugdha Godse	16		Maharashtra	India
2003	Deepti Gujral	17		Maharashtra	India
2004	Deepa Chari	19		Maharashtra	India
2005	Niki D Souza	20		Maharashtra	India
2006	Arti Sharma	23		Haryana	India
2007	Mahima Chaudhary	17		Pune	India
2008	Payal Tarafdar	20		Assam	India
2009	Ankita Mohapatra	23		Odisha	India
2010	Arshina Trivedi	21		London	United Kingdom
2011-12	Sakshi Chaudhary	19		New Delhi	India
2013-14	Charlotte Claire	23		Mumbai	India
2015
2016-17	Karuna Singh	20		Chandigarh	India	[27]

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.

width=63	Year !	width=200	Representative !	width=200	State !	width=250	Ranking !	width=300	Special awards
1997	Lara Dutta	Karnataka
1998	Tora Khasigar	Assam
1999	Aanchal Kumar	Punjab
2001	Koena Mitra	Maharashtra
2002	Rakhee Chaudhary	Karnataka
2003	Deepti Gujral	Maharashtra

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.

width=63	Year !	width=200	Representative !	width=200	State !	width=250	Ranking !	width=300	Special awards
2001	Candice Pinto	Maharashtra
2002	Tejinder Kaur	New Delhi
2003	Deepa Chari	Maharashtra
2004	Parul Chaudhry	Maharashtra
2005	Shriya Singh	Punjab
2009	Anousha Chauhan	New Delhi
2010	Mahima Chaudhary	Pune

Representatives to Miss Tourism Queen International

width=63	Year !	width=200	Representative !	width=200	State !	width=250	Ranking !	width=300	Special awards
2004	Zabina Khan	Maharashtra
2005	Neha Oberoi	Maharashtra
2006	Rupali Suri	Maharashtra
2007	Mahima Chaudhary	Maharashtra
2008	Devyani Mandavgane	Maharashtra

Representatives to Miss Tourism Queen of the Year International

width=63	Year !	width=200	Representative !	width=200	State !	width=250	Ranking !	width=300	Special awards
2005	Roopa Howaldar
2004	Amanpreet Kaur Wahi	Punjab

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.

width=63	Year !	width=200	Representative !	width=200	State !	width=250	Ranking !	width=300	Special awards
2000	Jacqueline D’souza	Karnataka
2001	Zinobia Boocha	New Delhi
2002	Mugdha Godse	Maharashtra
2003	Deepa Chari	Maharashtra
2006	Aarti Sharma	Haryana
2007	Mahima Chaudhary	Maharashtra
2008	Payal Tarafdar	Assam
2009	Ankita Mohapatra	Odisha

External links

• Gladrags Megamodel Manhunt

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2001-04-02 . Contestants get teased by stream of questions at Gladrags Mega Model and Manhunt Contest . 2024-11-01 . India Today . en.
2. Book: Bhattacharjya, Manjima . Mannequin: Working Women in India's Glamour Industry . Zubaan . 978-93-85932-58-8 . en.
3. News: 2015-03-08 . Model manners . 2024-11-10 . The Hindu . en-IN . 0971-751X.
4. News: 26 July 2004 . Baddie cool . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20040930134011/http://www.hindu.com/mp/2004/07/26/stories/2004072601040400.htm . 30 September 2004 . 11 November 2010 . . Chennai, India.
5. Web site: 16 March 2017 . WHERE STARS ARE BORN . 2024-11-10 . Hindustan Times.
6. Web site: 2001-11-12 . I am not a typical model-model, says Gladrags Manhunt 2001 winner Rajeev Singh . 2024-11-08 . India Today . en.
7. Web site: 2023-04-22 . Dino Morea on why models looking for a Bollywood career have it tough now: 'There was a craze, at par with actors' . 2024-11-08 . The Indian Express . en.
8. Book: Sondhi, Aditya . The Order of the Crest: Tracing the Alumni of Bishop Cotton Boys' School, Bangalore (1865–2015) . 2014-12-18 . Penguin UK . 978-93-5118-905-3 . en.
9. Web site: 2024-09-07 . Only actors get ads now, not supermodels: John Abraham . 2024-11-08 . www.dtnext.in . en.
10. Web site: The John Abraham Interview . 2024-11-01 . Rediff . en.
11. Web site: Muzamil Ibrahim wants to help restore peace in Kashmir . 2024-11-08 . www.ndtv.com . en.
12. Web site: Romeo Gates, Mahima Chaudhary win Gladrags Megamodel and Manhunt Contest. oneindia.com. 24 Jan 2014.
13. Web site: Payal Tarafdar (L), and Karan Ambardar (R) are the winners of Gladrags mega model and manhunt held at Spring Mill ground Wadala in Mumbai - Photogallery . 2024-11-01 . photogallery.indiatimes.com.
14. Web site: 2009-03-03 . One and only . 2024-11-01 . The Indian Express . en.
15. Web site: Gladrags Mega model and Manhunt contest 2007 . 2024-11-01 . India Forums . en.
16. Web site: The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - The Tribune Lifestyle . 2024-11-01 . www.tribuneindia.com.
17. Web site: Let's Talk Sex Wedding Season is Here! Premarital Medical Tests for Ensuring a Healthy Marriage . 2024-11-08 . News18 . en.
18. News: 2016-08-07 . Imran Khan had a gala time meeting his old friends . 2024-11-08 . The Times of India . 0971-8257.
19. News: 2023-02-24 . 'Badhaai Do' fame Chum Darang dating former Bigg Boss contestant Hrishant Goswami . 2024-11-08 . The Economic Times . 0013-0389.
20. Web site: Sporting a crown to conquer .
21. Web site: Khatoon . F. . 2019-06-18 . Model turned anchor Karan Ambardar is living his dreams by hosting ICC World Cup 2019 . 2024-11-08 . Indulgexpress . en.
22. Web site: 2019-09-16 . Abhinav Gautam is truly a star in the making, here's why! . 2024-11-08 . www.asianage.com . en.
23. News: 2 September 2021 . Abhinav Shukla participated with Sidharth Shukla in Gladrags 2004 contest, shares pic as he mourns his death .
24. Web site: 2022-09-02 . Sidharth Shukla Defines Beauty Marvelously In This Old Video From Gladrags Manhunt Contest . 2024-11-08 . Indiatimes . en-IN.
25. News: 2013-05-03 . Shwetha Menon competed in Miss India . 2024-11-08 . The Times of India . 0971-8257.
26. News: 2005-04-13 . Lara Dutta wins Gladrags battle . 2024-11-01 . The Times of India . 0971-8257.
27. 2016-09-12 . Fashion Forward: India Today . India Today . 1.