The girls strut backstage with applause still ringing in their ears and clouds beneath their feet. This is their night and they know it. But underneath all the laughter and jubilation, the five finalists aren't heaving that sigh of relief just yet. Tonight's elimination is going to send, not one, but four of them home.

But right now… it's party time!

The girls get out of their designer threads and don their party best. Before they step out into the crowd, someone from the Channel [V] comes in to let them know that none of them is going to be doing any drinking. I'd imagine they came up with that rule to aid "catfight-control" and prevent any inebriated outbursts, before or after the final announcement.

After a while, I come back to the "pink" room to rest my feet and find that the girls are back. As the guests outside nibble on appetizers, I join the girls in scarfing down some chicken biryani. So much for "health food".

The girls are getting restless. It's been almost two hours since the party began and they can't wait for the guests to leave so that the actual "grand finale" can begin. I'm getting rather impatient myself, so I can imagine how this is driving the girls crazy right now.

As we wait, Rachel tells me that whatever the decision maybe she wants to talk to the producers about being a VJ with Channel [V]. She thinks that it's something she'd be really good at. I tell her I think it's a pretty good idea. Earlier, soon after the party, Arika was excited about the fact that a couple of international modeling agencies had approached her. Curious, I ask her whether despite that it mattered to her if she won or lost. She smiles and says that she definitely still wants to win. At this point, after all that they've been through, I think all five finalists feel the same way about tonight's announcement. All five of them want to walk out of here with those wings tonight.

One of the Channel [v] crew just walked in and announced that the finale is about to begin. I get out of the green room and grab a good seat. I am a bundle of nerves. I have no idea which way this is going to go. There is a sense of palpable excitement in the air and everyone's breathing in deep.

The girls line up. One by one, the judges talk to them all about their experience on the show. The first to be sent off stage are the girls who were eliminated in Goa.

The moment of reckoning has arrived. The judges put their microphones aside and start to deliberate in whispers.

Tick

Tick

Tick

Time seems to have slowed down to a crawl. Then finally, Nikhil picks up the microphone. With out any warning, he tells Arlette and Arika that they're eliminated. Then, a few seconds later, Nidhi is told to get off the stage. Only Rachel and Rebecca are left standing now. Rebecca's tearing up even before the decision is announced. I've got my fingers crossed for her. All of us are waiting with bated breath. After another brief conversation among the judges, they are ready to announce the winner.

And the winner of Get Gorgeous 4 is… Rachel!

Everyone is cheering and hooting. Rachel gladly dons her new wings and all other the girls come back on stage to congratulate her. After much hugging and kissing, the girls retreat to the green room while Rachel enjoys the cameras' attention.

I go backstage to see how the other finalists are doing.

Nidhi seems upset so I ask her if she's doing okay. She says she's fine. She thinks that Rachel won because Channel [V] was looking for someone with that kind of personality. The disappointment in her voice is apparent.

Arika on the hand seems like she's handling the decision relatively better. She's obviously disappointed but seems to think that Rachel deserved to win. In her own words, " Rachel is my inspiration for everything; my modeling, my music… everything."

On her way out, Arlette hugs me and asks me to stay in touch. I find myself choking up as I look at her tear-streaked face. I tell her I'm sorry she didn't win. Tears start rolling down her cheeks as she tells me that she more upset about Rachel winning, than she is about not winning the title herself. She thinks Rebecca should have won.

 

Rebecca too thinks Rebecca should have won. She's obviously very upset and disappointed, but after wiping away her tears tries to laugh it off. She starts to tell everyone about how she almost walked off stage when Nidhi got eliminated because she misunderstood what Nikhil said.

I say my goodbyes and as I leave the venue, it hasn't really sunk in that the show is finally over. On my way home, I try to make sense of the judges' final decision to make Rachel the winner. Her previous experience modeling gave her an edge over the other girls, but I thought Rebecca should have been the winner. She showed the most growth and improvement during the show, and eagerly absorbed the critique of the judges on the way she looked, walked, posed and emoted… everything. As a result, her portfolio pictures were fantabulous!

And so, the decision of the judges remains a mystery to me and perhaps to a few of you as well. But life goes on and even as this blog comes to an end I can't help but wonder what the next season of Get Gorgeous will bring.

For now, I’m going to go back to surfing the channels to find something else to satisfy my craving for reality TV. One thing is for sure though, after all the live drama I’ve encountered here everything else sure is going seem boring in comparison. As for the girls. They're going to be setting out on a whole now rollercoaster ride. Billboards, magazines, televisions ads… you're going to be seeing more of the girls and how!

I just woke up with the heady realization that today is D-day! The finale is this evening and quite honestly, I don't know what to expect.

As I sit in bed, I'm still tired from last night's rehearsals that wrapped up in the a.m. And though I'm sure the girls are far more tired than me, I'm certain that their excitement will prevail and have them bounding out of bed bright and early. Suddenly, I find myself feeling a bit nostalgic. This has been a long journey for everyone involved. From Gokarna to Mumbai and then to Delhi, Bangalore, Pune and back to Mumbai. From obscurity and ordinary to famous and fabulous… the girls sure have come a long way.

I just reached Good Earth. On my way to the green room, I see the crew running around fixing last minute glitches, trying to make sure everything is just perfect.

• Lighting
• Sound
• Fluffed Cushions
• Little paper butterflies all over the floor

This is a unique production and I must say, I've never seen anything quite like it. I mean, it's like a fashion show in the middle of a giant living room!

I get backstage and can't help but smile. In true G et Gorgeous style, the "green" room is now pink. Most of the girls are thrilled with the Nikhil & Shantanu outfits they're going to be wearing… but not all of them. Nina just showed me one of her dresses and referred to it as a potato sack.

After having run through the choreography a few more times under Lubna's watchful eye, I think this is finally starting to feel real for the girls. This is going to be the first time on the ramp for almost all of them. In an attempt to lighten the mood, I ask Rebecca and Rachel what they think about Nikhil. Rebecca shrieks loudly and claps her hands (I'm never going to get used to her reacting to everything like that). They both tell me that they love him and Rachel even thinks he's "Soooo hot"! Neither of them realizes that he's walked in and is sitting right there, listening to them with a big grin on his face.

Lubna rounds them up for one last pep talk. She seems almost emotional. She wishes them the best of luck and tells them to do their best.

As they get their hair and make-up done in the green room, the crowd outside is building up slowly and steadily. Tensions are high. This is the last chance for the finalists to influence the judges' final decision and the stakes are higher than ever before.

The finale is going to start soon so I get into my dress. Half- joking, I tell Sunny (the Channel [V] make-up artist) that I should get my make-up done professionally too. He thinks it's a great idea so before you know it, I'm sitting there getting my make-up done for me!

I feel like a million bucks!

The guests are seated outside and the show is about to begin. I have butterflies in my tummy so you can only imagine the state the girls are in. I wish them luck, grab my camcorder and after getting instruction from Rahul (the producer), head out into the crowd.

The place is packed with actors, models, designers, the press, international modeling agencies and the likes. Every seat in the house is filled and almost every bit of standing space is occupied. The crowd is here to see the grand unveiling of the Get Gorgeous girls as they walk the ramp for the first time in Nikhil and Shantanu's creations. I take my position near the stage.

The stage is set. The lights dim and I realize I'm holding my breath. Then the show begins. I can't believe my eyes as I watch the girls sashaying down the ramp! It's almost unbelievable that these are the same girls I met on my first night in Gokarna. They look stunning, stylish and incredibly confident. Even those not in the running to win the title, are looking like winners tonight!

I smile as I see Manoj Jahdav look on approvingly at Nina walking the ramp like a pro. Arlette looks spectacular as does Mizpah and I think the both of them are simply stealing the show. Arika looks like a lady instead of a little girl and Rachel looks like she's been doing this all her life.

The show comes to an end with a thunderous applause from the crowd as the girl's line up before the Get Gorgeous Butterfly.

After the show, I talk to the crowd to see whom they liked best and who they think is going to win. Designer Vikram Phadnis thinks it should be Rachel, but Seventeen Magazine stylist Gia, thinks that Arlette should win the title. Rebecca, Nidhi and even Mizpah were some of the other crowd favorites.

So are you wondering who the winner is? Well, you'll just have to wait until the show airs Thursday night to find that out.

PS: If it makes you feel any better, you're not alone. Everyone at the party will have to do the same because the announcement wasn't made until all the guests had left.

So come back to my blog Thursday night and I'll tell you about all the drama that happened during and after the big announcement.

The girls have spent the last few weeks doing a lot of cool new things like portfolio shoots and screen tests for ads, without the fear of immediate elimination. Nevertheless, the finale is around the corner and I'm going over to the Good Earth store to catch up with them and see how they're coping.

As I mentioned a while back, the girls have no clue that for the finale, they're going to be walking ramp with the girls who got eliminated in Gokarna.

Call me evil but I can't wait to see how that reunion is going.

I enter and rehearsals are already underway. Channel [v] is hard at work, making sure that the venue looks perfect in time for the finale… and Lubna Adams is trying her best to do the same with the girls.

As I watch, I notice that a change has come over a few of them.

Despite the complicated choreography, Arika is performing better at the ramp walk than ever before. She's responding well to Lubna's encouragement unlike in Gokarna where having Alison brand her as a screw up from the get go, had her stumbling all over the place.

Rachel has gotten super focused on winning even though she's acting like she doesn't care too much about it.

Nidhi on the other hand looks a bit stressed but maybe that's because she's feeling a bit unwell. She's got a fever and just borrowed my t-shirt to keep her warm. No, I'm no Hindi film hero gallantly taking the shirt of my back for a damsel in distress… she borrowed the spare t-shirt I had in my bag.

Nikhil is back on the scene. That means that some of the girls are a little nervous. When I ask Mizpah if she's nervous about Nikhil being around, she claims that she never was afraid of Nikhil to begin with so, she has no reason to be scared now. I tell Nikhil about this to see what kind of reaction I'll get, but he just smirks and says, "Yeah right, that's why she's lost 5kgs in this one month!"

As the girls strut around in ridiculously high heels (6 or 7 inches high!), Mizpah seems a little preoccupied. I think she's feeling the pinch of not being in the running for the title. The fact that she has to be a part of the finale despite that is probably killing her.

Rehearsals have been going on for a few hours and back stage the girls are starting to have fun. They are relaxed, enjoying the music and dancing every now and again. There are a lot of compliments, hugs, laughter and love on display. Surprisingly, Arika is also being included in the fun instead of being picked on.

However, there is one person who has received a less than warm welcome from her fellow contestants — Kirtana.

Now I must admit that I expected her to get the cold shoulder from the girls and sure enough, that's exactly what happened. What I didn't expect though, was a catfight….

Sarika and Kirtana were asked to share a room in the apartment. According to Sarika, it was around 2 or 3am and the two of them were settling down to sleep when the argument began. She tells me that somewhere in the middle of this fight she lost her temper and told Kirtana to shut up unless she wanted to be slapped. To which Kirtana responded sarcastically saying, "slap me." Sarika claims she did just that…

As we speak, Sarika expects me to be sympathetic but I just find the incident terribly funny. She seems annoyed at my reaction and so I try to be supportive. I pull a straight face and in my most serious voice I say, "Well, you can't be blamed for what happened. You did what she told you to… you asked if she wanted to be slapped and she said slap me!"

A little later, Arika and I are talking and I ask her what she thought about the fight between Sarika and Kirtana. According to her, Sarika is exaggerating.

At this point, all the girls are hoping to look their best for the finale but as you might imagine there's still a lot that's stopping them from getting their much-needed beauty rest.

The drama continues even as the contest is wrapping up and it only gets better from here on. So come back for more next week and find out who's going to be flying away with this seasons butterfly wings!

For the past 10 weeks, I've been giving you the scoop and you've been posting your comments. So, I thought to myself…how about this week we hear from the models themselves. After all, they are the ones living the show!

Fasten your seatbelts boys and girls… I'm giving them a call to find out what they're loving and loathing about this rollercoaster ride called Get Gorgeous 4.

1. What has been the least fun aspect of doing this show?
Rachel: Well actually, everything is fun in its own way. Even though it is boring, it is really fun. I've never done something like this so for me it's really different. The least fun thing would be the make up because as it is I don't like putting on make-up.
Rebecca: The food ya. It's not my type of food like chicken and all. It's not that nice.
Nidhi: The criticism of the judges. In Gokarna, it was knowing that every night there were going to be eliminations and the work you did was going to be judged and that it was all going on TV. Other than that; dealing with my roommate in Gokarna, Kirtana.
Arika: The Jungle in the Bungle scene cause I got humiliated. Or let me see, the least fun could be… the girls teaming up on me or rather me being out of the fantastic four thing. Or actually it was a good thing… I don't know. Valsa, I'm confused!
Arlette: The least fun aspect of the show has been giving up rice, giving up coffee, giving up chocolate, giving up sleep, giving up family.

2. And the most fun?
Rachel: Doing the tribal shoot because it culminated into the final five. It was really exciting.
Rebecca: Everything! I think ramp…no, the photo shoots. Actually, the most fun I've had on the show was when I was in Delhi to meet Gaurav Gupta for my portfolio shoot.
Nidhi: The spa in Gokarna, which was really beautiful. The last day of the eliminations, where I got told that I'd made it to the final five. The night just before we were going to leave for Bombay and after that the extra day we had off to do whatever we wanted in Gokarna. That was the fun-est part of the show!
Arika: Being pampered. You're like the main person in the whole shoot. People get to wait on you and everything. So it's like, pretty cool.
Arlette: Finding friends in everybody. Having the best in the industry to work with and having an AC room where you can come and crash after a hard day’s work! And being able to have a hot shower… I love baths!

3. What do you have to say to people who think models are dumb?
Rachel: People think that way for a particular reason. Maybe because in the past they have encountered a few models who are a little daft. Personally, I haven't met too many daft models. Now-a-day's models are girls who are smart and who want to make quick money.
Rebecca: I just feel like slapping them and telling them to shut up and try to be a model, na. I think models are very snobbish and bitchy. They keep people at a distance and so people might think they're dumb. Okay, I don't know. Just write a smart answer for me, ya! Hahaha… Don't ask me interview questions. You know ya, you've stayed with me for so long!
Nidhi: I think people are entitled to their own opinion, obviously. But it's quite nasty because a lot of people are very judgmental and stereotype people in this profession, which is not nice. I think it should be a universal policy that you shouldn't judge anybody before giving them a chance.
Arika: It's just stupid because it's not true. I mean yes, there are some models who are dumb but they're just like normal people. Some people are smart and some people are dumb. It just happens to be that most models are dumb but not all models are like whatever…
Arlette: In the first place, they think that. They don't know for a fact that the models are dumb or not. What I would like to tell them is like, maybe if they could step into our shoes for just one day, I'm sure that they could not do half as much as we do.

4. What do you have to say to people who think the judges are/have been excessively mean?
Rachel: At the end of the day, I also feel the judges were nasty. But I think they are asked to be nasty because when you spend time with them you realize that they are otherwise. Knowing that it is a reality show and things like that, they had to create some amount of drama.
Rebecca: I don't think the judges are excessively mean. I think they were just mean. I don't know if they like doing it but that's just what happens in the show and we've just got to accept them. Like Nikhil, you just have to accept him… even though on the whole he was the meanest.
Nidhi: I would say, you're right!
Arika: It was kinda okay because they are just doing their job. It is their job to be nasty and to humiliate people. It isn't that bad.
Arlette: Well, they're not nasty to me but the nastiest comment or the most frank comment they must have given me is that I'm a little chubby. But they are judges, they've been in the industry for a longer period and like I said before it's not a very easy industry to be in. It's their job at the end of the day.

5. One thing you will miss about the apartment in Mumbai.
Rachel: Just the fun of living with girls, you know. I didn't really think that I could ever. But at the end of the day, to some extent they all rub off on you in some sort of way. Like Nidhi and her cleanliness and her very disciplined ways, like Becky and her insanity, Arlette and her cleaning up also and Arika… you can learn how to be a child from Arika.
Rebecca: The girls and the fun we had.
Nidhi: The clothes we got from Benetton and Rachel's UFO's made out of swimming tubes!
Arika: The decorations. You know because normal people don't get to decorate their house like that and all. And the independence we have living on our own is pretty cool.
Arlette: The companionship that we all share. I will miss all the fun we have… miss the girls basically.

6. Five girls got eliminated in Gokarna. If you could bring one of them back to be in the final five, who would it be?
Rachel: Nina. Or even Mizpah. But if it comes to someone who really deserved it, I would say Nina.
Rebecca: Mizpah.
Nidhi: Nina.
Arika: Nina.
Arlette: Mizpah! Hottie!

7. There can be only five finalists. So, who would you replace?
Rachel: Arlette.
Rebecca: Arika.
Nidhi: Arika.
Arika: Ummm…I guess it would be Arlette. Or myself. I don't know… I would like to win… okay fine, my answer is Arlette.
Arlette: Arika. Is that even a question you need to ask me?

8. One thing about you that has changed since you started doing the show.
Rachel: I've started dressing more properly… sometimes. Not all the time, but sometimes I really get the zeal to get up and get ready, nicely dress up, put 0n some make up and things like that.
Rebecca: Two things… I lost a lot of weight and I now think girls are bigger bitches than I thought they were!
Nidhi: I always thought that I was very fair and non-judgmental but I realized how untrue that was when I got onto this show.
Arika: I get more confident after every photo shoot. After every new thing, that I have to do, I get more confident. And I learnt a lot of "your mama" jokes from you!
Arlette: My confidence levels.

This week, the girls are back in Mumbai and living together in an apartment along with Assistant Producer, Aarti from Channel [V].

I'm going to be meeting them today and I'm a little apprehensive… I haven't spoken to or seen them since Gokarna. Besides, I hadn't exactly left them on the most positive note; having gotten accused of robbery and all!

As I stand outside their apartment, I have no idea what kind of reception I'm going to get. So, I do the only thing I can; I take a deep breath, pin on a grin and ring the doorbell.

Arlette answers the door and is polite enough. She smiles, says hi and announces my arrival with a "Valsa's here". I'm happy to see that some of the crew are at the apartment (I had a fun with them in Gokarna). I see Arika lounging on the living room couch deciding what to order for lunch. I've been worried about her surviving the "fantastic four" and so I ask her how she's holding up. She surprises me. According to her it's been great living with them and they've all been really sweet. I only half believe the smile on her face but I'm happy for her all the same.

I wander into one of the bedrooms and meet Nidhi there. I've been feeling really bad about bombarding her with expletives during out last conversation and so the first thing I do is apologise to her for it. She smiles and says it's cool; she believed Kirtana had misled us all.

I tell her about my ride to the airport with Kirtana; how she hadn't expected me to pick up the phone and call Nidhi, the call from Rahul about the missing clothes, my irritation at having ended my awesome trip to Gokarna on such a bad note.

That's when Nidhi tells me that the goodbyes in Gokarna hadn't been the last they'd heard of Kirtana. She and Arika had been exchanging heated text messages with Kirtana, and as Nidhi tells me all the gory details, I laugh my head off at all this soap-opera like drama.

After elimination madness in Gokarna, it's nice to see the girls in such a relaxed atmosphere. As they lounge around in the apartment listening to Becky's insanely loud trance music, I enjoy watching them just be themselves.

They don't have much to do today but what they don't know is that VJ Pia is supposed to pay them a surprise visit in the evening and show them their portfolios. Rachel is performing with her band at Not Just jazz by the Bay today evening and her rehearsal is going to be delayed because of Pia's visit. She doesn't know that Pia's coming, so she's very upset and throwing a bit of a tantrum. She's locked herself in one of the bedrooms and sulking.

A little later, the girls are sitting around and just for fun, I ask them what they'd do if Kirtana walked in right now. All of them laugh. They're sure that Nidhi will pull out a sword from somewhere and slice her in half. Nidhi thinks it'll be a better idea to hang her by her thumbs… apparently that's a form of Chinese torture.

I hopelessly try to suppress my laughter. Little do they know that in next few days, they are going to be meeting Kirtana and the rest of the girls who were eliminated. Now that's the kind fun I wouldn't want to miss for anything in the world…especially after this conversation.

All day at the apartment, I notice that the group is teasing Arika and making snide comments and jokes at her expense. Nidhi's less brutal but she's telling Arika off when she gets irritated with her. Rachel's too upset about her missed rehearsals to either engage in or stop it.

Later, when we're all having a snack of chilly-cheese-toast in the living room, the topic somehow turns to Arika. In Gokarna, it was obvious that they weren't exactly fond of her and I tell them of my concerns regarding how she'd survive them in Mumbai. Becky tells me the reason they couldn't tolerate her was because even when they were nice to her, she would ignore them. Arika starts to claim that that was only because Kirtana would tell her not to talk to them. Their response is that Kirtana isn't her mom and she didn't have to listen to everything she told her. Then suddenly Arlette brings up how Arika had kicked her in the pool. I'm confused… hadn't Arika told me that Arlette kicked her and didn't apologise? The truth is that Arika returned the kick with an even harder one! It's starting to look like she's not such a harmless little thing after all…

When Arika isn't around, I ask Nidhi, Arlette and Rebecca why they're so hard on Arika. What is she doing that irritates them so much? They tell me that they're tired of her acting like a baby all the time. They hate that she puts on this innocent, helpless act whenever the cameras are rolling or when talking to a judge. Besides, they say she's very childish about a lot of things, indecisive about everything and constantly seeking validation from everyone about the way she looks, her personality, her clothes, etc.

Even though Arika's been grating on the Fabulous Four, surprisingly it's not stopping them from helping her out. The whole time i'm at the house, Arika is trying on outfit after outfit , in an attempt to decide what to wear for Rachel's show at 6pm, and she still hasn't made up her mind! Nidhi's been getting annoyed but she's offered to help Arika put together something to wear and Rebecca's offered to lend her earrings to match the outfit. Even Arlette who dislikes Arika surprises me when I walk into one of the bedrooms and find her ironing Arika's hair! These girls really don't seem as bad as I thought they were.

VJ Pia arrives and as I walk out the apartment door, I hear the girls cheering. Pia's just announced that they're getting their photographs from the portfolio shoot.

I can't help but smile. All the real drama may not make it to television… but the show must go on.