Miss India Canada, Uppeka Jain, 24, from Brampton, Ontario was crowned the first princess in the Miss India Worldwide contest held in Johannesburg last weekend. The top prize went to Shagun Sarabhai, a 20-year-old Mumbai homeopathy student while third place honours went to Sabiha Hussain, 21, from the host country.

Contestants came from 18 countries as a panel of judges rated their talent, dress sense in Eastern and Western wear, and answers to questions.

Uppekha Jain, 24, is the reigning Miss IndiaWorldwide, Canada, an accomplished Bharat Natyam and Khatak dancer, holds an undergraduate degree in business from Wilfrid Laurier, and is brand manager for Cadbury’s Caramilk.

The last time Canada won at this pageant was 10 years ago.

Jain has her eyes set on a career in Bollywood.
During the competition, audiences cheering for their favourites, judges keeping scores, contestants performing at their best, the night had begun with a bang! In keeping the audience in suspense, the show included a designer fashion show by Chunri Creations featuring their latest collections now available at their new Vaughan location.

As the competition became more intense and audiences began ruling out their “picks”, the panel of judges – including Ms. Katie Edmonds of Rogers Cable, Ms. Daru Dhillon, Morning Show Host of  Sportsnet Connected, Mr. Maker, Owner of Cellular Point, Ms. Nalini Sharma of CityNews, and other community business leaders – all had yet to be surprised by the talented competitors. Entertainment, as usual at D&T shows were mindblasting! Hosted by Mr. Jake Dheer and guest co-host Priya Mann, both of Rogers Television, were a pair of comedic entertainment themselves! Dressed to impress, the pair entertained the guests, one of which included Jumana Spoenlein, MRS. India International, and ran the show effortlessly. The one and only Tricia Gilhooly, a.k.a. “Shyann” and 2nd Runner-Up Miss India Worldwide Canada appeared to give a touch of the “west” influences singing tunes of Hollywood.

Adding some Bhangra mixes to the night, the DK Bollywood Dance Pak also surprised the audience with a guest appearance for the first time, nine year old “lone ranger”, Sahil from the DK Bollywood Dance Workshops, Mississauga location, which made the audience went absolutely “wild” as this unique Bollywood item surpassed previous entertainment at live shows!

 

MIWC Contestant Coordinator, Sonia Toor, who was also performing, said it was a show stopper for all! Moreover, Hetal Patel, MIWC Asst. Choreographer and performer, mentions that people usually look forward to performances by the DK Bollywood Dance Pak and with an item like this, the Dance Pak most certainly lived up to the positive reputation they had developed. As the show was coming to an end, all the contestants were called up on stage and the top finalists, subcontest and the top three winners were announced. Tabulation of the scores were courtesy of Ricky Chawla of Deloitte, MIWC Accountants. The winners for the MIWC 2007 pageant included “Sahara One” Miss Best Skin, Alicia D’Souza; “Photoland” Miss Photogenic, Natasha Singh, Mehaik Bhasin of Edmonton; Surrey’s Mesha Toor was ajudged 2nd Runner-Up; Quebec’s Amenda Bhalla was placed both 1st Runner-Up and “Tour East” Miss Congeniality; and Brampton’s talented Uppekha Jain was crowned Miss India Worldwide Canada 2007 along with “Rogers” Miss Best Talent and “Jannel” Miss Best Hair. All the contestants hair and makeup was courtesy of Jannel, Professional Hair & Makeup with gifts provided by Sacha Cosmetics Canada, all of whom were recognized in this year’s beautifully printed pageant brochures by Millenium Printing Inc.  Ms. Uppekha Jain is looking forward to the world and representing Canada at the Miss India Worldwide pageant in Johannesburg, South Africa, round-trip ticket courtesy of Tour East Holidays. Hotel and conference sponsor for the MIWC pageant was the Courtyard by Marriott Brampton which also accommodated guests from New York including Mr. Dharmatma Saran, Founder and Chairman of the Miss India Worldwide, and Mr. Sudhir Viashnav of Sahara One. Not to mention, all photographs of the MIWC pageant 2007 were courtesy of Mr. Prakash Kanani of Photoland Studio, the MIWC Official Photography Sponsor.

Producers, Divya Kumar and Tricia Bhim of D&T International is looking forward to upcoming productions including a national search for the next “Bollywood” star singer and dancer, Mrs. India International, Fall 2007, and they would like to announce that they are currently holding local auditions for new members to join the infamous DK Bollywood Dance Pak for upcoming performances!