Last weekend, the grand finale of Pond’s Eclectic Model Hunt 2015 was held at ITA Machkhowa. Hosted by Pooja Jha and Rohan Kumar Das, the evening had everything one could ask for – charming and talented contestants, exciting rounds, entertaining performances and more. Well-known names from the entertainment industry such as fashion designer Joy Mitra; Shikhar Sidharth, Managing Director of Vogati Talents; Assamese actor Vaishalee Saikia; former model and pastry chef Mandakini Dass and social worker Miani D Shira from Shillong were part of the judges’ panel.
The evening started with Round 1 where the 15 contestants dressed in Rinku Sobti designs were introduced to the audience and the judges. Soon after this, the subtitle awards were announced. Miss Picture Perfect was presented to Binita Chhetry, Morica Marak won Miss Talented, Tsering Penzom bagged the Miss Congeniality title, Nandita Saikia won Miss Beautiful Hair and Miss Elegant was presented to Livikali Sumi
After a mesmerizing kathak and Bollywood fusion dance by Priyam Baruah and her team from Jorhat, it was time to move to Round 2. Only the top 10 girls were selected to take part in the question and answer round. All the contestants looked smart and chic in the outfits designed by JDians, the talented designers from JD Institute. All the ten girls had to pick out the name of one judge from a bowl with chits, who would then ask her a question which she had to answer in less than a minute. Although all of them gave sensible answers, some of the girls managed to really ‘wow’ the judges. After Round 2 came to an end, the audience enjoyed Sangeet Natak Academy award winner Moinul Haque’s hilarious mime act.
Then it was time for the all important final round, where the top 5 girls needed to go through another gruelling question and answer round. Dressed in striking designs by Joy Mitra, all five were cheered on by the enthusiastic crowd.
The final performance of the night was an acoustic performance by Guwahati based band Swadhyay who had the crowd grooving to their peppy beats.
Soon after the performance, all the suspense came to an end when the judges’ scores were added up. Nandita Saikia from Guwahati was adjudged as the 2nd Runner-up and Kaheli Chophy from Dimapur was the 1st Runner-up. The winner of Pond’s Eclectic Model Hunt 2015 was Binita Chhetry from Guwahati. She was crowned by Emika Pakyntein, Pond’s Eclectic Model Hunt 2014 Winner, Managing Director of Eclectic Publications, Tanushree Hazarika and fashion designer Joy Mitra.
Managed by Tattva Creations Pvt Ltd, the event gave aspiring models from the region an opportunity to showcase their talents and pursue their dreams.