. Miss India America 2012 is Crowned

August 25th – Los Angeles, CA- The 20th annual Miss India America pageant took place on August 25th at the Sheraton LAX and was hosted by Jinnder Chohaan. 17 contestants took the stage and competed for titles including Miss and Mr. India America. The hundreds of attendees ranged from Bollywood to Hollywood, guests included Eriq La Salle (ER), Caroline Lagerfelt (Gossip Girl), and Sunny Leone (Jism 2), George Blodwell (Celebrity Stylist), Naureen Zaim (International Model), Vik Sahay (Chuck), Sayo Harris (Miss Japan) among others. Sponsors included Jay Gill of GillAutoGroup.com,  South Asia Magazine, Star TV, Marinello Schools of Beauty, Sacha Cosmetics, and JinModels.com.

The evening began with a red carpet reception and continued on to a dinner catered by Chakra, a Michelin-rated restaurant with two locations in Los Angeles. After a dinner and dessert of Indian delights, the pageant began with contestants from all over the country showcasing their talents and poise in the talent section, gown presentations, and traditional wear section. The judges included Eriq La Salle (ER), Steven Bauer (Scarface), TV host Tony Potts (Access Hollywood), director Shirish Kunder (Joker), Chelsea Autumn (Millionaire Matchmaker), director Anil Sharma (Gadar), Sarah Fasha (Miss Egypt 2013), Caroline Lagerfelt (Gossip Girl), and Faran Tahir (Star Trek).

List of Winners –

Miss India America 2012: Ohmnie Patel
Mr. India America 2012: Milan Rao
Mrs. India America 2012: Megha Odehera

Miss Teen India America 2012: Saleena Khamamkar (from Nevada)
Miss India West Coast 2012: Sharmita Bhattacharya (from Texas)
JinModels.com Miss Photogenic 2012: Sharmita Bhattacharya (from Texas)
Miss India East Coast 2012: Annushka Prabhudyal (from New York)
Miss India California 2012: Sonica Patel (from Alabama)
Star TV People’s Choice 2012: Pratiti Gandhi
Mr. India West Coast 2012: Sunny Tripathy
JinModels.com Mr. Photogenic 2012: Sunny Tripathy
Mr. India California 2012: Dustin Saiidi
Star TV People’s Choice 2012: Jeet Bhinder (from San Diego, CA)
JinModels.com Mrs. Photogenic 2012: Megha Odehera (from New Jersey)
Mrs. India East Coast 2012: Suman Singh (from Washington)
Mrs. India West Coast 2012: Reshu Kandari
Star TV People’s Choice 2012: Reshu Kandari

Elite Awards 2012 were given to:

Eriq La Salle (actor & director)
Steven Bauer (actor & producer)
Anil Sharma (Bollywood director & producer)
Shirish Kunder (Bollywood director & producer)

In its 20th year, the Miss India America pageant attracts talent and celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood who join together in promotion of Indian culture. A highlight of the pageant was the traditional wear section in which the contestants wore shalwar kameez and saris. Many contestants incorporated a traditional red, which has a long history in Indian cultue from the red henna on a young bride’s hands to red powder often being showered on deities at Hindu temples during prayer. Past guests have included Fabio, Steven Segal, Harry Baweja, Mallika Sherawat, Rahul Khanna, producer Deepak Nayar (Bend
It Like Beckham), and Kiely Williams (Cheetah Girls).

The gift bags contained goodies from Harmony by Amyn, House of Minerva, WoodChuck Case, LD Apparel, Knockout Panties and Ruddy Water Co and ONE Coconut Water. The giftbag is also available as a giveaway prize from http://www.sheknows.com

Cloud 21 PR’s team consisted of – Allison Zahigian, Diana D. Drumm, Patrick McClanahan and Shoma Lodhia. They were engaged in streaming and syndicating the event LIVE over several Social Media Channels including: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+, WordPress, LinkedIn to name a few. The content received over 3.2 million impressions during that period.

About Spirit of India
Spirit of India is a charity organization founded by Ms. Jinnder Chohaan and has simple goals: to provide young South Asians an opportunity to display and enhance their talent, to heighten their self-esteem, and to enhance the image of the South Asian community. Jinnder founded the organization in 1992 and has had the opportunity to work with thousands of young South Asians. She has been producing pageants for 20 years, making her prestigious pageants the longest woman-run South Asian pageant. A pioneer in her field, she was also the first to create and produce a Mrs. India pageant outside of India. The pageant’s alumni have gone on to, have become finalists and/or have won ZEE WORLD TEEN QUEEN; MISS INDIA WORLD; MISS U.S. GLOBE; MISS TOURISM INTERNATIONAL; MISS WORLD; MISS GALAXY; MRS. GLOBE; GRASIM MR. INDIA; GLADRAGS MRS. INDIA; MISS TEEN WORLD; FEMINA MISS INDIA; MR. INTERNATIONAL and MISS ASIA! http://www.spiritofindia.com

About Cloud 21 PR
With offices in Los Angeles and Atlanta, Cloud 21 PR is a full service publicity, PR and Social Media Marketing agency with a unique approach to client needs, driven by passion for entertainment industry and deep roots in digital media. In the past five years, Cloud 21 PR has helped its clients with organizing live events, red carpet premieres, social media contests, luxury gifting suites and brand launches. Cloud 21 PR has executed publicity campaigns during some of the most engaging international events such as Cannes, Sundance Film Festival, Oscars and many more. http://www.cloud21.com

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For Media Enquiries: Cloud 21 PR, 323 432 6673, gothamc@cloud21.com