IndiaPost.com - Sharanya Mukhopadhya crowned Miss South Asia 2008

LONG BEACH, CA: Everyone witnessed a star-studded Red Carpet gala here onboard the prestigious ship Queen Mary on November 16, as the who's who of South Asians in Hollywood and world beauty queens were seen greeting fans, posing for pictures, and participating in interviews.

This was no ordinary night- it was Jinder's 17th Annual pageant with all the glitz, class, and glamour that is always associated with her special events. The main pageant was for the women where Sharanya Mukhopadhyay, 20, was bestowed the world title Miss South Asia 2008, Divneet Wadhwa, 15, Miss Teen South Asia 2008, Ridhi Patel, 21, won the coveted title Miss India America 2008, Archana Nair, 17 of Minnesota, was named Miss Teen India America 2008 and Niki Desai, 19, won the title Miss India California 2008.

Winners in the tough male competition were Milan Rao, 17, grabbing the top spot as Mr South Asia 2008, Abhi Kommareddy, 18, won the popular title Mr India America 2008 and Vikram Singh, 22, took home Jinder's oldest title Mr India California 2008.

Sahara One Television and South Asia magazine presented the event, with co-presenters JINmodels.com and Subhash Ghai's Whistling Woods International in Mumbai. On the red carpet, Hrithik Roshan was revealed as the cover guy for the highly anticipated celebrity South Asia magazine, which had an exclusive interview with the Bollywood actor.

After the red carpet, the guests were treated to delicious appetizers and a lavish dinner by Rupee Room. The show started with a bang as Yogen Bhagat and his talented dance troupe Bollywood Step Dance brought the house down with his Bollywood style opening.

Jinder K. Chohan, Executive Producer and Creator of the South Asian beauty contest said, "Our company has built a strong reputation around the world in our successful 17 years in business, as we proudly represent India in many world pageants, such as Miss Galaxy, Miss Asia, Mrs Globe, Mrs. Galaxy, Beauty of the World, and Mr International."

The Mistress of Ceremonies was the very talented BMG Sony singer Tina "Tabla Girl" Sugandh. Also sharing the emceeing was Sasha Hoffman-Miss India Globe 2007, Rochelle Kumar-Beauty of India 2007, and Medha Rishi-Miss India Galaxy 2007. The show was expertly directed by Revi Chohan.

The night kept getting better and better as the 45 contestants were revealed to the audience. There were contestants from all over America, even from Canada, UK, India and South Africa. After everyone participated in traditional wear ramp walks, the talent segment started for the Miss South Asia, Miss India America and Miss India California categories.

Divneet Wadhwa wowed everyone with her Tae Kwon Do talent, complete with breaking wooden boards held by her parents. Other noticeable talents were dances by Sharanya Mukhopadhyay, Niki Desai, Archana Nair, Gunjan Nanda, Ridhi Patel and a beautiful song sang by Nisha Garimalla dedicated to Lord Krishna. Elegantly and stylishly dressed in tuxedos and formal gowns, all the contestants were featured in the last round of the competition. Before the finalists were announced, R&B singer Ranjini from New York took center stage and sang her chartbuster "No Matter".

The top eleven finalists were: Niki Desai, Justine Dharni, Nisha Garimalla, Shahziya Khan, Navjot Mann, Sharanya Mukhopadhyay, Archana Nair, Gunjan Nanda, Hatel Patel, Ridhi Patel and Divneet Wadhwa. The contest was judged by a brilliant jury consisting of big names from Bollywood and Hollywood. Gitika Ahuja, Producer, ABC's Good Morning America, Kavi Ladiner, lead actor of films like Heroes and Las Vegas and Anisha Nagaraja - Lead in Broadway's Bombay Dreams amongst other esteemed judges were on the panel.

This year there were 12 dazzling married women fighting for the top spots, in which three were even doctors, and for the first time the pageant had a mother in the Mrs Category and a daughter competing in the Miss category. Ritu Chopra took the Mrs South Asia 2008 title, as Roopali Sharma of Utah won Mrs India America 2008, and Mrs India California 2008 was Priya Khandelal.

Some of the exciting prizes were over $6,000 in cash scholarships, screen tests by Bollywood Showman Subhash Ghai, TV host auditions with Sahara One Television, cruises on Masala Cruises, photo spread in South Asia magazine, and contract with JINmodels.com.