Episode 6
Have you ever watched a movie or TV show where the door is kicked open, the cops charge in and the criminal, startled awake, jumps up disoriented? A moment ago, I felt like I was in a scene just like that.
Last night, the girls were told that this morning they needed to wear their bikinis with some kind of bottoms, and gather by the pool. Predictably, they were half an hour late and Dianne decided to go to their rooms and wake them up. Rachel (my roommate), woke up on time, got ready and went to wake the others. But Dianne didn't know this, so right now I'm sitting in bed all traumatized and pissed off because she just barged into my room with a camera man.
I've had four hours of sleep.
I must say, I’ve found it rather hard living in with the girls. They go to sleep much earlier than I do. But they’re completely absorbed in themselves and the contest, and they don't care about trying not to disturb me when they're awake and I'm not.
This morning’s early workout has the girls in the pool with Dianne. According to Dianne, exercising in water is an absolute blast, and it helps protect your joints from damage through impact.
Now, I didn't witness this myself, but after the workout Arika told me that Arlette had kicked her in the pool and didn’t apologize after Arika brought it to her notice. Arika says Arlette keeps pushing her around, and according to her, Arlette being sweet to everyone else is an act. There’s most certainly a rivalry between Arika and Arlette, so at this point, I'm taking everything they tell me about each other with a pinch of salt.
It’s after breakfast, and we’re all saying their goodbyes to the girls who’re going home. I'm not going to reveal who the second girl to go home is, but Sneha seems upset.
The problem with Sneha is that she didn't understand the fine line between sexy and vulgar. The previous day, after the shoot with Michel, I was talking with her in her room. I stood her in front of the mirror and pointed out to her just how strange the pads in her bra made her look. I got her to take them out and tried to tell her that she didn't need them. I showed her the proper way to put on a bra or a bikini — to bend forward before you put on the clasp. (I learned this from watching Oprah).
Sneha seems convinced that grey contacts and padded bras will help her succeed. I think she'd do better if she'd just be herself. I must say though, I know how bad she wanted this and it is hard to see her go. I think she was one of the sweetest girls here and I am going to miss her. (Click here to check out my photo slide show from the second elimination.)
Back in their rooms, the girls get surprise visitors: Tribal Gowda women in their traditional outfits arrive at their rooms and hand them the invites for today's shoot in the jungle. I'm in the lobby watching these shy little women walk by, and I’m struck by their beauty and grace.
Soon after this, the girls assemble for another class with Samantha. Today they are going to learn how to master the evening look. Confident that the girls now know how, she's asked them to each apply their own base. She's now going to do each of their six faces and show them how to work with their individual faces.
When the girls walk into the dining hall for lunch, they look stunning! Even Nikhil and Shantanu have come to sit at their table, full of compliments. Nikhil tells the girls how great they all look, and that they shouldn't get too stressed out. I think he's feeling bad about being too harsh the previous night because he's being really sweet and encouraging.
Last night at the eliminations Nikhil said something about how Rachel's poses looked like something out of the Kama Sutra. Afterwards she was crying bitterly about that in her room and was being consoled by her girls. Despite all the nice things that he's saying right now, I can see that the girls haven't forgiven him for that.
It's around 3:30 and the girls, judges and crew leave for the forest. In the forest, as soon as the crew gets done setting the place up for the shoot, the games begin. Under Alison's watchful eye, the girls must practice their ramp walk… in the middle of the forest floor! Though they've been getting better at it, most of the girls are still having a hard time with the ramp walk. And trying to do it in the middle of a forest didn't make it any easier.
The girls get traditional Gowda saris to cut and style as they please. The Gowda women seem amused at what’s going on around them, and smile indulgingly as they give out pointers. The judges critique their creations once they are done, and find most of them boring and messy. Fortunately or unfortunately, the girls are going to have to do the shoot with these self-styled outfits.
At some point when preparing for the shoot, Kirtana freaks out when she sees a dried up snakeskin lying on the forest floor. You probably saw the clip at the end of episode 4 where Arlette and Rebecca were talking about how she made a big deal about a small frog in her bathroom. She seemed convinced that the frog was going to spray her with poison. She’s a little jumpy.
Manoj is done with the shoot, and some of the girls are in for yet another surprise. They won’t need to wait until the eliminations that night to find out who might be going home. The announcement is going to be made right here in the middle of the forest. Out of the six girls, there are three who have the highest scores thus far and are safe. The three who need to worry though, are Niddhi, Arika and Kirtana who are at risk. Two of them will be going home tonight.
It's 7:30 and everyone's just gotten back to Swaswara. The judges are tired and retire to their rooms to unwind and relax. The vibe from the girls is mixed. Those who know they are going to the finals are relaxed, and having fun. They are even confident that it's going to be Arika and Kirtana going home and that Nidhi is definitely going to make it to the finals. It's almost like they think that Nidhi has been put among the bottom three because the judges couldn't declare there and then that Arika and Kirtana would be the one's sent home.
I’m feeling torn. I think Kirtana is getting eliminated for sure but I think it would be terribly unfair to send either Nidhi or Arika home. They both have way too much potential! Wouldn’t it make for great TV if maybe the judges keep them both and instead sent home one of the girls who's been declared safe?
wow! its getting even more interesting!! eliminations after another.. and walk on forest floor! man what are those gurls going thru!
Comment by ss19rulz — July 10, 2007 @ 11:46 pm
man…??!!i thought the judges liked nidhi coz iv neva heard them commentin on her…i just hope she stays… arika deserves to go…shes not really dat good as da other gals..i cant wait to watch da next episode..!!!!and ur behind da scenes blogs!!
Comment by prathiba — July 11, 2007 @ 2:24 am
mistake….sorry nt arika…kirtana….
Comment by prathiba — July 11, 2007 @ 2:25 am
oh!!i just read da blog again.. so arika & kirtana r at risk along wit nidhi…so no doubt..nidhi's safe…feel sad for arika.. she wasnt dat bad..
Comment by prathiba — July 11, 2007 @ 2:28 am
what kind of night gowns does kirtana wear? she looks really sad sometimes. kind of VERY annoying. i think nidhi - arlette and rebecca are perfect. rachel is a lot like carol gracias.. arika is somewhat stuck up. the show is interesting!
Comment by dipti — July 11, 2007 @ 1:00 pm
Dont tell me that Channel V couldnt find 10 really gorgeous looking girls .
None of the girls are model material. The first two girls to be eliminated , one was so filmy other so bland.
Then the last one to be eliminated , less said the better
Comment by rahul — July 11, 2007 @ 10:19 pm
This show sucks. It isn't even close to ANTM in creativity, presentation or excitement.
Comment by annika — July 12, 2007 @ 6:58 pm
okies guys,its nina.kirtana and arika gettin eliminated…..coz nidhi is the runnr-up…so de winnr is eithr,rachel,arlette or rebecca!!!!!
Comment by vicky!!! — July 12, 2007 @ 7:15 pm
I agree with annika partly, the judges are REALLY trying too hard to be harsh…almost like for every harsh word they say, channel v is paying them lotsa cash…nikhil is trying to be the indian version of simon cowell…seriously…hes pushing it.I agree with what rachel said in todays episode-there is a difference between constructive criticism and humiliation.
Comment by Michelle — July 12, 2007 @ 9:27 pm
Amen to that, Michelle. I really resent the fact that Nikhil is trying this whole Cowell shtick. It's not working. What I don't understand is why everyone here (and I really mean no offence) is siding with Arika. I'm sorry but she's just a non-ugly face in my humble opinion. She's got the personality of a brick and is as exciting as watching paint dry. She's also a bit of a whiner…not a turn on.
Comment by ubergonzo — July 13, 2007 @ 12:57 am
An attitude like that …nicely window dresses doesnt deserve to be on the show!
Can the channel V judges do their bit by looking into the character of the contestants!
Comment by Krithinka — July 13, 2007 @ 1:21 am
Hey guys…this may not come as a surprise, but arika is out because she is from pune and i saw her today at a place called village…a popular teen hangout…she was alone waiting for friends i guess and looked very irritated…took me sometime to realise its her but it definitely was her cause she walked past me and my friends…so arika's out!
Comment by Michelle — July 13, 2007 @ 1:12 pm
haha… thanx michelle.. seriously i like dis show but its crazy that they show us 20 mins of a whole week of filming… n most of it is jus bitchin….judges or models.. whoeva!!!
Comment by Anaika — July 13, 2007 @ 3:49 pm
I know…20 minutes once a week is crazy…you hardly get to see anything…i agree they want the suspense level to rise or whatever…but its getting a bit too personal now…judges are discouraging as ever
Comment by Michelle — July 13, 2007 @ 6:44 pm
lollz @ Michelle! How weird was it seeing Arika face to face? Does she always look pissed?
Ok meanness aside, some of the girls are pretty good but the presentation is kinda drab. The show is only 30 mins long (abt 15 mins if you exclude commercials). Most of the time we have to listen to people commenting on each other instead of actually watching cool shoots/ pictures etc. There's no real drama either. The girls seem to tired to get animated over anything. I just see them sniffling in their nighties and commenting on each other's "energy level". The judges are drab themselves and they keep talking about the contestants not having enough personality!!
Okkayy I guess I'll need to make a list.
Comment by annika — July 13, 2007 @ 7:29 pm
bottomline - its not working. At all. the only one who deserves to win is Kirtana.
Maybe because she hands the right kinda treatment to the show.
GG4 could have been better, and i dont care sounding shallow or pervert, models with better figures could have been chosen. the first digits are in the early 30s for all, and i feel it includes the pads.
Comment by Sumit a.k.a The Acid Tongue — July 14, 2007 @ 12:59 am
Kirtana's too blase about the whole thing. And what's up with her perma-sickness? Somewhere, a medical company is cashing on this chick. My vote is for Nidhi.
Comment by ubergonzo — July 14, 2007 @ 5:09 am
yup… nidhi 4me too.. n have ul noticed dat shes prob da only 1 who hasen been bitchin non stop!!!
Comment by Anaika — July 14, 2007 @ 12:46 pm
well as far as i am concerned.. i dont think V is gonna spend so much money have the contestants there for duno how many weeks and showing us jus 20 mins of their 7 days.. comon guys be more practical! as far as i see.. it must be a 2 day thing! anyway, thats my opinion.. and nothing to say abt the contestants! jus watch.. or rather read!
Comment by ss19rulz — July 14, 2007 @ 4:17 pm
Agreed about the money thing. Why else would they eliminate two people at once?
Comment by annika — July 14, 2007 @ 4:34 pm
arika did look like she had been weeping anika…lol…part of me feels sorry for her but whatever…you obviously cannot go further in this "cut throat" competition…and i do agree about nidhi…shes got the looks and shes photogenic and she doesn't involve her self in petty bitchery(is that a word?)
Comment by Michelle — July 14, 2007 @ 9:00 pm
***you obviously cannot go further in this "cut throat" competition with a fragile ego like hers…(forgot to insert those words lol)
Comment by Michelle — July 14, 2007 @ 9:01 pm
i dunno wat is goin on da show there is nuthin in it it is far away from antm i guess there was only 1 photoshoot uptill now cos i dont think dat da one they had with michel haddi was a photoshoot cos it sucked… there is nuthin execept bitching n i dunno y da hell r they throwing out 2 girls at a time this show is useless cos u dont get to really see da girls talent in ma opinion, no proper photoshoot just bitching n bitching n dat stupid idea of walkin in forest sucked couldnt they do it on da ramp or somewhere else
Comment by sameera — July 15, 2007 @ 12:40 am
During the forest shoot it looked like Kirtana was wearing a bad wig…
I like Niddhi.
Comment by Stephanie — July 15, 2007 @ 1:04 am
No Michelle. Bitchery is not a word.
Comment by annika — July 15, 2007 @ 12:14 pm
Oh ok then my bad
Comment by Michelle — July 15, 2007 @ 3:43 pm
this show sucks big time.this nikhil guy is a bit of a slimebag.i think hes got a thing for rebecca and rachel.isnt he married or something? what a creep. as far as the show is concerned its very poorly produced.the photoshoots are really tacky(tt tribal thing was so stupid).i dont really see any of the girls working in high fashion except Rachel,nidhi and rebecca.the rest are just substandard.i cant believe out of a million ppl they chose these ten girls for the show.i would have done a better job had they asked me.if they think they are indias answer to antm they are SO mistaken.and neha kapoor is NO tyra banks.she looks like a constipated goat with her bad nose job.they cud have atleast asked some1 like ujjwala,laxmi menon or meghna reddy.i think kirthana and arika are out.btw alison looks like the wicked witch of oz with her wrinkles and evil eye.lol
Comment by RITO — July 16, 2007 @ 11:41 am
hey ………rachel is de winner………………:)
Comment by vicky!!! — July 16, 2007 @ 1:49 pm
hey vicky… how dya kno?
Comment by Anaika — July 16, 2007 @ 4:13 pm
cool if she is! But now they'll make her a VJ and she'll keep saying "Coooool yaaaaaa" and "Killerrr yaaaaaa" and I'll never be able to watch [V] again
But she'll make a good model. I love her look.
Comment by annika — July 16, 2007 @ 4:18 pm
I think the best thing so far has been the two male models and Mizpah.
Comment by annika — July 16, 2007 @ 4:21 pm
i think first of all..all r not up to the mark..so judges here have to rake their brains, on who is worst than the other…hope they cud hve selected some matured girls..who r atleast interested…i think rachel has loads of attitude..and she knws she will make till the top..thts y she talks crap abt others…tht ugly duckling needs to mature a bit…
Comment by anita — July 17, 2007 @ 1:49 am
I think the epidoses have been exceptionally well cut and presented and the voice overs are scintillating. Good job whoever is editing all this
Comment by A.W Beats — July 30, 2007 @ 10:26 pm
hey salome you are too sexy………………
i love u..
Comment by GAUTAM SAINI — July 22, 2008 @ 11:04 am