Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru
Mangaluru, Jan 31: After days of anxious wait, the moment is finally here, when we announce the six finalists of Hyssna Miss Daijiworld-2015 photogenic contest.
The contest, which was announced in December 2015, received huge response with over 1,600 entries by closing date on January 10. It was a hard task shortlisting the most photogenic faces, but finally, after several rounds of careful scrutiny, 15 were selected for online voting that began on January 17.
It gives us great pleasure to announce that in just a week, the contestants received a whopping 1,21,301 votes in all. The contest gained wide publicity in social media like Facebook and WhatsApp, with people voting for their favourite contestants and inviting all and sundry to vote.
Based on the votes garnered by each contestant and marks given by a panel of judges, nine were shortlisted and invited to Daijiworld corporate office and interviewed. Needless to say, all the nine were impressive with their poise and panache.
Out of the nine, six finalists have been shortlisted based equally on the marks given by judges and the number of online votes received by each of them.
The grand finale of the contest will be held during the 15th anniversary celebrations of daijiworld.com at Milagres Jubilee Hall at 5.30 pm on February 5. Three contestants who have receive the highest number of aggregate individual votes in all three rounds - online votes, from judges and final jury - will be announced on the occasion.
The six finalists will be judged by a three-member jury consisting of celebrities from the film industry. An interesting question-answer session with the judges awaits the finalists. Miss Daijiworld-2010 Anjali Shetty will grace the occasion.
The winner, besides being crowned 'Hyssna Miss Daijiworld-2015', will get a cash prize of Rs 1 lac and become the brand ambassador of Daijiworld Media Group for the next one year. The first runner-up will get Rs 75,000 while the second runner-up will be awarded Rs 50,000. The other three finalists will get Rs 25,000 each. All the finalists will also receive gift vouchers. Abu-Dhabi based Hyssna International is the contest sponsor.
Here are the six finalists in alphabetical order:
Bhavishya Shetty
The well-groomed 20-year-old Bhavishya Shetty is the daughter of Chandrahasa and Swarna Shetty, currently residing in Bengaluru. Born and brought up in Kuwait, Bhavishya hails from Adyar in Mangaluru and is into fashion marketing. She is passionate about modelling and has participated in several beauty pageants. She has won the 'Phoenix Face of the Year 2014' contest organized by Phoenix MarketCity, Bengaluru.
Jessica Fernandes
Jessica Benita Fernandes is the daughter of Jerald and Felcy Fernandes of Ashoknagar, Mangaluru. Hailing from Bantwal, the charming 23-year-old holds a bachelor's degree in commerce and is currently pursuing MCom. She stays in Dubai, where she is working with Gems Education. She loves singing, dancing and especially cooking. She had previously contested in Miss Daijiworld-2010 contest.
Jolita Rebello
Daughter of Joachim and Therese Rebello, 25-year-old Jolita Rita Rebello is an MBA degree holder, currently working for Manipal Techonologies Ltd, Manipal. The slim and slender Jolita loves a good debate, and is passionate about dance and modelling. Reading novels is one of her hobbies. She had participated in Miss Konkani World contest conducted during the World Konkani Cultural Convention at Kalaangann and adjudged the first-runner up.
Merula Pinto
The bubbly Merula Pinto, all of 17 years, is the daughter of Joel and Matilda Pinto from Bejai. She is currently pursuing PU studies at St Agnes College in the city. From swimming to basketball, dancing to compering, music to theatre, she has a wide variety of interests and hobbies, besides being good in academics. She has won several prizes at inter-school, district and state-level competitions, and even grooms children in public speaking and personality development.
Shilpa Shetty
Shilpa Shetty, who shares her name with a popular Bollywood actress, is the 21-year-old daughter of Vasanth and Yashodha Shetty of Puttur. Presently residing at Adyar, the stylish Shilpa is a student of Sahyadri College of Engineering. She has a fair amount of experience in modelling and photoshoots for advertisements. She had participated in Campus Princess audition for Miss India 2015 in Mangaluru and Campus Princess audition for Miss Universe 2015 in Bengaluru, where she was among the top 10 contestants. She loves dancing, singing and cooking.
Srishti Salian
At 19, Srishti Salian is a bundle of energy. Daughter of Dayanand and Geetha Salian of Hiriadka, Udupi, Srishti is a second year computer science student of Shri Madhwa Vadiraja Institute of Technology and Management, Bantakal. She is passionate about modelling and dancing, and loves reading books.
Congratulations to the six finalists. A special word of appreciation and gratitude goes to the others who made it to the top 15 and all the contestants who participated with such enthusiasm. We also wish to thank our readers for their support and each and every individual who participated in the online voting process.