Meet the newly crowned Miss India 2022, Karnataka’s Sini Shetty

Karnataka’s Sini Shetty was crowned Femina Miss India World 2022 at a glittering pageant that was hosted on Sunday night in Mumbai. Along with Shetty, Rubal Shekhawat was also named Miss India 2022 First Runner Up, while Shinata Chauhan was named Miss India 2022 Second Runner Up at the event that was hosted at the JIO World Convention Center in Mumbai, which featured Bollywood A-listers and VIPs.

The Miss India Organisation also shared a congratulatory note to the three winners in a special message through its official Instagram account. “These ladies have a powerful voice and we’re sure that they’re going to use this platform to further all the important causes that they believe in. We’ve seen the passion with which they’ve worked for these titles and must say that they deserve every bit of this. Congratulations, ladies - it’s time to celebrate.”

According to their official bios, the 21-year-old Shetty was born in Mumbai and holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance. Currently, she is studying to be a Chartered Financial Analyst. And when not number crunching, the beauty queen is a trained Bharatanatyam dancer.

First Runner Up Shekhawat is from the Indian state of Rajasthan and enjoys dancing, acting, and painting, when not playing badminton. The young talent has already taken her baby steps into Bollywood having feature in a B Praak music video titled ‘Ishq Nahi Karte’, with actors Emraan Hashmi and Saher Bamba.

Second Runner Up Chauhan is from the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. She is a scholar and possesses leadership qualities according to her bio.

The Miss India 2022 event also marked the 20th anniversary of Bollywood actress Neha Dhupia winning the same crown. In a special tribute, the Miss India Org posted: “20 years of winning the prestigious Femina Miss India crown! Thank you Neha Dhupia, for being not only a mentor to our ladies but also thousands of women out there with the power to chase their dreams. Here’s celebrating 20 years of you @nehadhupia And we are so nostalgic to see that beautiful crown on your head. The honours being done by her parents are just an icing on the cake.”

The Bollywood quotient was added at the event with Kriti Sanon (pictured) and Lauren Gottlieb performing.

Actor Maniesh Paul (left) was host for the night, who was later joined by Bollywood actor Rajkummar Rao to announce the three winners of the night.

Among the celebrity judges was model and talk show host Malaika Arora (pictured), actor-model Dino Morea (pictured), choreographer Shiamak Dawar and more.

The extensive scouting drive and subsequent interview rounds culminated with the shortlisted selection of 31 state winners this year. These shortlisted finalists arrived in Mumbai and had to go through rigorous training and grooming sessions and were mentored by the best in the industry, to compete for the crown at the finale.

Winners of the Miss India pageant then go on to represent the country on a global stage in the world of pageantry. More often than not, such beauty pageants also serve as a stepping stone to enter Bollywood, with actresses such as Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Sushmita Sen, Lara Dutta, Neha Dhupia, Dia Mirza and others having carved careers for themselves in the Hindi film industry.