Pics by Rons Bantwal
Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai
News: Times of India

Mumbai, Mar 8:  Kawaljit Anand from Assam, a self-avowed Nelson Mandela fan and a tsunami survivor, won the title of Haywards Mr India 2007 here on Wednesday with a combination of looks, warmth and survival skills.

Freddy Darruwala, who chose Mahatma Gandhi as his icon for his efforts to stop the partition of India (and, therefore, the "partition of the world's best cricket team"), was the first runner-up. He was followed by Mohsin Akhtar, a strapping young man from Jammu & Kashmir whose first-hand experience of terrorism prompted him to choose George Bush as his icon for the war he was fighting against terror.

The event, packed with live performances by eminent figures like Lesle Lewis and Raageshwari, was held at Santa Cruz on Wednesday. The evening began with Lewis' hit, 'Yaaro mohabbat hi to zindagi hai', and soon it was Infrared band member Rodney asking people to put their hands together. The performances proved to be the perfect launchpad for the rest of the evening as hosts for the evening Siddhartha Kanan and Suchitra Pillai announced the entry of 18 finalists.

The contestants came from varied backgrounds; one was a computer engineer, another an instrumentation engineer making a living as a flight steward and a third a fashion photographer. Wearing a smile and a designer dhoti by Libaas, the tall men with sculpted bodies sashayed down the ramp.

The contestants' brief introductions on video set the tone for the evening. Rayo Bakhirta from Shimla boasted of "coming from the mountains" and Milind Shah said he was a qualified instrumentation engineer but worked as a flight steward for a major airline.

The tension, building up gradually, was eased somewhat by Shibani Kashyap strumming her guitar and singing 'sajana aa bhi ja' till the announcement of winners of various sub-categories began.