Delhi boys take home two titles at the IX Grasim Mr. India Pageant

23 March, 2003

Mumbai

Rajneesh Duggal was crowned The Ninth Grasim Mr. India by the outgoing Grasim Mr. India Raghu Mukherjee in a breathtaking ceremony held at the Andheri Sports Complex in Mumbai on March 22, 2003. Rajneesh Duggal, 23, a Business Manager hailing from the Capital also won the much coveted award for 'GRASIM MR. TALENTED'. The First Runner Up is Vikrant Mahajan, 26, a Manuscript Editor of Harper & Collins is also from Delhi. The Second Runner Up is Satyam Shanker Sahai, 25, a consultant from Secunderabad.

The Ninth Grasim Mr. India contest was judged by a panel of eminent judges including media personality, Mr. Pradeep Guha, ace photographer, Mr. Gautam Radhyadhaksha, television host and actor, Mr. Shekhar Suman, cricketer Mr. Azharuddin, model and actress Ms. Malaika Arora Khan, television actress Ms. Nausheen, theatre personality Ms. Lillette Dubey, well known director Ms. Kalpana Lajmi, former Miss International and actress, Ms. Diya Mirza and Cathrina Guibourg.

Mr. Anshumaan Swami, Organizer of the Ninth Grasim Mr. India contest adds, "We are extremely proud of all the 28 contestants especially Rajneesh, Vikrant and Satyam Shanker who have taken home titles and will represent India in international pageants later this year." The Ninth Grasim Mr. India, Rajneesh Duggal, will represent India at the Mr. International pageant, to be held later this year in Mumbai, while Grasim Mr. India First Runner-up, Vikrant Mahajan will represent India in Mr. Continental to be held in Germany whereas Grasim Mr. India Second Runner-up, Satyam Shankar Sahai, will represent India in Mr. Tourism International to be held in Panama.

The Sub Contests for the title were earlier held at The Resort, Madh Island. The awards for the Best Dressed - Kranti Prakash, Best Talent - Rajneesh Duggal, Best Physique - Akil Khokhawala, Mr Photogenic - Vikrant Mahajan, Best Dressed - Kranti Prakash, Best Smile - Arun Karan Singh and Mr Popular - Umeash Pherwani out of the 28 Grasim Mr. India contestants.

The Ninth Grasim Mr. India award ceremony saw the stage ablaze with a host of performances by Shaimak Davar and his dance troupe, a session of romantic ballads by singer Kay Kay, a musical spoof by a London based troupe, an ethnic bridal fashion show by designer Satya Paul and the ultimate show stopper with a fantastically choreographed Bollywood number by Diya Mirza, Amrita Arora and Yana Gupta.

More than 15000 entries were received for the contest out of which 28 contestants have been shortlisted for the Grand Finale. These contestants have been in Mumbai for 21 days and have been involved in various personality development, grooming and community development activities. Experts such as Mickey Mehta, choreographer Prasad Bidapa renowned theatre personality Sabira Merchant have personally trained the contestants. Grasim Mr. India contest was conceived by the Aditya Birla Group in 1994. The contest has been an attempt to highlight the converging diversity of mankind under one roof as part of the theme "One World One People". The annual event has captured the unity and diversity of India and has successfully showcased India to the world. It has also sought to give a platform to young men to develop their personalities and become ambassadors of our strong Indian heritage. Some of the past winners include Aryan Vaid, Raghu Mukherjee and Diwakir Pundir.