contestants for Miss India Worldwide 2011 DUBAI  ? Arabstoday Who said you need to be stick-thin and be willing to sport a bikini to be crowned a beauty queen, Come May 14, as many as 32 Indian women, who living outside their home country, will be in the capital to participate in the Miss India World Wide contest.
To be held at the Emirates Palace Hotel, the contestants will be judged by Bollywood actress and former Miss Universe Sushmita Sen. The panel is also expected to include model-turned-actress Mugdha Godse and actor Abhay Deol.
The yardstick is not beauty alone, says organiser John Matthew of Emirates Vision. The contest has no relation to the prestigious and popular Miss India beauty pageant held every year in India.
\"This contest is for Indians living abroad and is different from the Femina Miss India contest. The Femina contest is only for Indian girls with Indian passports living in India. Also, we don\'t expect our participants to wear bikinis,\" said Matthew.
The culturally-sensitive contest, first held in New York in 1980 by a US-based company IFC, will place a chunk of its marks on talent instead of vital statistics.
\"Many Indian parents don\'t like their child to go to Femina Miss India because they don\'t want them [their child] to be exposed in bikinis. This is one pageant created so that parents are comfortable because it\'s a platform where that kind of body exposure is not there,\" said Matthew.
The winner will walk away with cash prizes worth $9,000 and will get a chance to audition for a Bollywood film.
\"We are still working on the details of the Bollywood offer, but they will surely get a chance to audition for some interesting roles,\" said Matthew.
Farzana Parveen, from the UAE, will represent this region.
Last year, the contest was held in Durban, South Africa, and this is the first time that it is being held in the UAE.
In the past, beauty contests such as Miss Emirates 2007, have been cancelled when advertisements seeking contestants raised anger among residents who found pageants offensive.
The tickets are available at Dh600, Dh350 and Dh125. For details, contact 04 3460040.