Beauty pageant
The stars of tomorrow
From the platform of Lux-Anandadhara
Kausar Islam Ayon
The Lux-Anandadhara Miss Bangladesh Photogenic contest has brought beauty and glamour within the reach of innumerable young women in the country. 'A trendsetter in the search for beauty, glamour and style', the contest for 2003 was held at Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in Dhaka on October 14. Fifteen most attractive winners in the regional rounds participated in the final.The gorgeous contest started at 7pm with the first queue of the contestants wearing dresses of bright colours. Before that the judges of the evening, eminent personalities from different sectors were introduced to the spectators. The panel of judges included litterateur Syed Samsul Huq, actresses Subarna Mustafa and Sara Zaker, Rabindra Sangeet artiste Rezwana Chowdhury Bannya, former cricket player Atahar Ali Khan, economist Dr. Debopriyo Battayacharya, media personality Faridur Reza Sagar, and woman entrepreneur Rokeya Afzal. When Sabina Yasmeen took the stage, the judges had already excluded five contestants from the fifteen. Sabina's performance no doubt reminded the audience of the golden age of our music. Then the judges cross-examined the talent of the participants. The answers of the contestants to questions related to general knowledge gave impression that the beautiful and glamorous women do not need to know everything! However, a few answers were witty. Asif, one of the most popular singers of this time, performed a collage consisting the first sections of his various hit tracks. Performance of Riaz and Poppy, popular stars of our film industry, were exceptionally exuberant. Their dance was an example that standard performance can bring back the audience to the theatre. Actor Mafuz came on stage to announce the elimination of five contestants again. After that Ayub Bachchu presented a wonderful instrumental on the guitar. A question-answer session was held again to check the ready wit of the participants. Before the most expected announcement of the results, big attraction of the evening legendary singer Runa Laila came on stage. She performed two of her greatest hits Shilpi Ami and Bondhu tin din. As the final moment arrived, film actor of the '80s Alamgir came on stage to announce the most coveted result. Wearing sarees of delicately feminine and richly emblazoned Muslin for the grand finale, the perfectly groomed contestants glided down the ramp. The judges selected Shayla Shabnam of Hobiganj from Sylhet Division as the Lux-Anandadhara Miss Bangladesh Photogenic 2003, who is very keen on developing herself as a complete actress. Blue eyed Rahnum Tasnuva Sonali from Rajshahi became the 1st runner up and Sakiba Binte Ali Pinky of Dhaka the 2nd runner up. The Lux-Anandadhara regional rounds were held in Sylhet, Barisal, Khulna, Chittagong, Rajshahi and Narayanganj amid great enthusiasm and grandeur to spot talent in all the divisions. 'It just showed us the wealth of talent that Bangladesh abounds in', said the organisers. The contestants are sure to follow the illustrious footsteps of the earlier winners who have later become prominent and successful media personalities.
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