Miss Diva 2021 was the 9th edition of the Miss Diva beauty pageant which was held on 30 September 2021 in Hyatt Regency Hotel, Mumbai. The 20 shortlisted contestants from all over the country competed in the pageant. Adline Castelino crowned Harnaaz Sandhu as her successor. After three months, she represented India at Miss Universe 2021 and became the 3rd Miss Universe from India to win the crown. Aavriti Choudhary crowned Ritika Khatnani as her successor. She represented India at Miss Supranational 2022 and won the title of Miss Supranational Asia 2022. Neha Jaiswal crowned Sonal Kukreja as 1st Runner-Up, whereas Kriti Sanon sashed all the remaining Runners-Up. Divita Rai was selected to represent India at Miss Universe 2022 and placed in the top 16.

Miss Diva 2021
DateSeptember 30, 2021
Presenters
Entertainment
VenueHyatt Regency Hotel, Mumbai
BroadcasterMTV
Entrants20
Placements10
WinnerHarnaaz Sandhu
Ritika Khatnani
Photogenic• Anaika Nair
← 2020
2022 →

This edition marked the longest period of time (20 months after Miss Diva 2020) that the organization has taken to hold an annual contest in contrast to its previous editions.

Final results

Color keys
Final results Candidate International placement
Miss Universe India 2021 Miss Universe 2021
Miss Diva Supranational 2022 Top 12
Miss Supranational Asia 2022
1st Runner Up
2nd Runner Up
3rd Runner Up
  • Tarini Kalingarayar
4th Runner Up
  • Ankita Singh
Top 10
  • Ayesha Assadi
  • Nikita Tiwari
  • Pallabi Saikia
  • Siddhi Gupta

Sub-contests

Miss Beach Body

Result Name
Winner
  • Ritika Khatnani
Top 6
  • Ayesha Assadi
  • Harnaaz Sandhu
  • Lavnaya Sangwan
  • Palomi Insan
  • Sonal Kukreja

Miss Beautiful Hair

Result Name
Winner
  • Naveli Deshmukh
Top 5
  • Ritika Khatnani
  • Sachi Kudale
  • Sonal Kukreja
  • Tarini Kalingarayar

Miss Beautiful Skin

Result Name
Winner
Top 5
  • Anaika Nair
  • Ritika Khatnani
  • Siddhi Gupta
  • Sonal Kukreja

Miss Beautiful Smile

Result Name
Winner
  • Lavanya Sangwan
Top 5

Miss Fashion Icon

Result Name
Winner
  • Ayesha Assadi
Top 5
  • Ankita Singh
  • Nikita Tiwari
  • Pallabi Saikia
  • Siddhi Gupta

Miss Photogenic

Result Name
Winner
  • Anaika Nair
Top 5

Miss Talented

Result Name
Winners
  • Pallabi Saikia
  • Palomi Insan
Top 5

Other sub-contest winners

Sub-contest Winner
Miss Top Model
  • Pallabi Saikia
Miss Congeniality
  • Sonal Kukreja
Miss Iron Maiden
  • Palomi Insan
Miss Active
  • Sonal Kukreja
Miss Lifestyle
Miss IQ
Miss Sudoku
Miss Takatak Star
  • Palomi Insan

Format

The pioneer

For the first time in Miss Diva's history, the organization lowered the height criteria from 5'5 "to 5'4". The organization now also allows trans women to enter the pageant meeting the criteria in certain.[1][2][3][4]

Dipanjali Chhetri became the first trans woman to compete in the Miss Diva competition. She made it to the top 50 semifinalists.[5][6][7]

Selection of candidates

In light of the pandemic situation that paralyzed the nation, the Miss Diva Organization decided to limit its operations to virtual projection and online interviews, thus allowing applicants to participate from the comfort of their homes. The organization opened the application to the public on June 11, 2021, until July 20, 2021.[8][9][10]

After the initial auditions, applicants were shortlisted to a Top 50 list, and these candidates were summoned for several rounds of interviews, chaired by an elite bench of celebrities. Later, the selected contestants shortened down to top 20 finalists, including a wild card entry, chosen by public vote. These 20 finalists took part in the contest's boot-camp and were to compete in the final event to be held in Mumbai on 30 September 2021.[11]

Contestants

Top 20

The following are the 20 official contestants:[12]

Color key
  •   Declared as winner
  •   Ended as runner-up
  •   Ended as one of the finalists or semi-finalists
Nu. Contestant Age[a] Height Hometown Placement
1 Aishwarya Kamal 24 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) New Delhi
2 Akshita Singh 21 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Vadodara
3 Anaika Nair 24 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) Mumbai
4 Ankita Singh 22 5 ft 8.5 in (1.74 m) Kolkata 4th Runner-up
5 Ayesha Assadi 21 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Mumbai Top 10
6 Divita Rai 23 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Mumbai 2nd Runner-up
7 Harnaaz Sandhu 21 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Chandigarh Miss Diva Universe 2021
8 Lavanya Sangwan 22 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Gurugram
9 Naina Upadhyaya 21 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Mumbai
10 Naveli Deshmukh[Replacements 1] 25 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Aurangabad
11 Nikita Tiwari 23 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Mumbai Top 10
12 Ojasvi Sharma 24 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) Delhi
13 Pallabi Saikia 21 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Digboi Top 10
14 Palomi Insan 24 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) Noida
15 Ritika Khatnani 19 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Pune Miss Diva Supranational 2022
16 Ruchi Chettri 20 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) Darjeeling
17 Sachi Kudale 21 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) Pune
18 Siddhi Gupta 25 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Delhi Top 10
19 Sonal Kukreja 23 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Jaipur 1st Runner-up
20 Tarini Kalingarayar 22 5 ft 7.5 in (1.71 m) Chennai 3rd Runner-up

Semifinalists

As in the previous edition, the winner of the Campus Princess contest will obtain a direct place in the Top 20 of Miss Diva 2021. Below are the Top 18 finalists of Campus Princess 2020. The list of finalists was announced in two parts, Part I and Part II on July 24 and 25, 2021 respectively. Miss Diva 2021 Top 50 was announced on 16 August 2021.[14]

On August 23, 2021, the Top 20 and Top 5 Wild Card aspirants were announced. The top 5 wild card contenders will face a public online vote until August 30, 2021, and the one with the most votes will enter the Top 20.[15]

  •   Advanced to Top 50
  •   Advanced to Top 20
  •   Chosen as Top 5 Wildcard entrants


Campuss Princess 2020 finalists Miss Diva Top 50 semifinalists Wildcard entrants - Top 5
S.No Name Hometown
1 Amrita Parihar Madhya Pradesh
2 Ananya Bist Dehradun
3 Ankita Singha Guwahati
4 Anoushka Chauhan Gandhinagar
5 Disha Patil Nagpur
6 Himali Pareek Rajasthan
7 Ishika Singh Mumbai
8 Khushi Ajwani Jaipur
9 Lavanya Sangwan Gurugram
10 Mahekdeep Kaur Amritsar
11 Mehak Vinayak Chandigarh
12 Nimisha Dhote Bhopal
13 Pankhuri Mehrotra Mumbai
14 Ritvikka Dwivedi Mumbai
15 Shibi Batar Delhi
16 Shyna Choudhary Pathankot
17 Vaibhavi Sharma Uttarakhand
18 Vanshika Dawara Jabalpur
S.No Name Hometown
1 Aavya Gupta Mumbai
2 Aditi Jaswal Dehradun
3 Aishwarya Kamal Delhi
4 Akshita Shetty Mumbai
5 Akshita Singh Vadodara
6 Alankrita Shahi Ghaziabad
7 Anaika Nair Mumbai
8 Ankita Singh Kolkata
9 Atasi Sindal Bankura
10 Ayesha Assadi Mumbai
11 Bhavana Sharma Bengaluru
12 Dipanjali Chhetri Delhi
13 Disha Patil Nagpur
14 Divita Rai Mumbai
15 Harnaaz Sandhu Chandigarh
16 Heli Vyas Mumbai
17 Ishika Singh Mumbai
18 Jasmine Lazarus Delhi
19 Jhanvi Sareen Gurugram
20 Kanchan Khatana Jaipur
21 Lavanya Gunasekar Mumbai
22 Mansi Taxak Mumbai
23 Mariam Paul Thrissur
24 Marishca Rodrigues Mumbai
25 Naina Upadhyaya Mumbai
S.No Name Hometown
26 Naveli Deshmukh Aurangabad
27 Nikita Thomas Kochi
28 Nikita Tiwari Mumbai
29 Nishi Bhardwaj Delhi
30 Niveditha Rajan Bengaluru
31 Ojasvi Sharma Delhi
32 Pallabi Saikia Digboi
33 Palomi Insan Noida
34 Pranshu Singh Yadav Seoni
35 Rajashree Dowarah Dibrugarh
36 Rhiya Yadav Mumbai
37 Ritika Khatnani Pune
38 Ritvikka Dwivedi Mumbai
39 Ruchi Chettri Darjeeling
40 Rushali Yadav Ajmer
41 Sachi Kudale Pune
42 Shefali Sharma Rewa
43 Shivangi Julka Delhi
44 Shraddha Surve Mumbai
45 Siddhi Gupta Delhi
46 Snehapriya Roy Mumbai
47 Sonal Kukreja Jaipur
48 Tarini Kalingarayar Chennai
49 Vaishnavi Hodalkar Pune
50 VM Mansi Kochi
S.No Name Hometown
1 Mariam Paul Thrissur
2 Naveli Deshmukh Aurangabad
3 Palomi Insan Noida
4 Rushali Yadav Ajmer
5 Vaishnavi Hodalkar Pune

Judges

Final night

For Top 20 finalists

  • Srishti Sawhney - President & Global brand director, Pulp & Fibre Business - Aditya Birla Group
  • Natasha Grover - National Director, Brand & Operation Head - Miss India Organization
  • Sushant Divgikar - Mister Gay India 2014, performing artist, drag icon, singer, equal rights champion & motivational speaker
  • Bhawna Rao - Designer
  • Abhishek Sharma - designer
  • Saisha Shinde - designer
  • Rani Mol - Head, Times Talent
  • Supreet Bedi - TV anchor, celebrity host
  • Bharat Gupta - fashion consultant, creative director, and stylist
  • Noyonita Lodh - Miss Diva 2014
  • Neha Jaiswal - Miss Diva 2020 Runner-up

For Top 50 semifinalists

The following eight judges determined the 50 semifinalists.[16]

  • Bharat Gupta - fashion consultant, creative director, and stylist
  • Srinidhi Shetty - Miss Supranational 2016
  • Bianca Louzado - hair and makeup expert
  • Neha Jaiswal - Miss Diva 2020 Runner-up
  • Jitesh Thakur - Mister Supranational 2016 2nd Runner-up
  • Noyonita Lodh - Miss Diva 2014
  • Sushant Divgikar - performing artist, singer, equal rights champion, and motivational speaker
  • Shefali Sood - Miss Diva Supranational 2019

Crossovers & returnees

Contestants who previously competed in previous editions of Liva Miss Diva and other local and international beauty pageants with their respective placements.

National pageants

Miss Diva
Femina Miss India
Miss Teen India
  • 2018: Ritika Khatnani (Winner)

International pageants

Miss Teen International
  • 2018: Ritika Khatnani (1st Runner Up)

Notes

  1. ^ Ages at the time of the pageant

Replacements

  1. ^ Replacement — Naveli Deshmukh was appointed to compete at Miss Diva 2021 by the Miss Diva organisation, as a replacement to Akshita Shetty due to unforeseen circumstances. Akshita Shetty was among the Top 20 finalists of the Miss Diva 2021.[13]

References

  1. ^ "Breaking-In: LIVA Miss Diva 2021 Launches Today". beautypageants.indiatimes.com.
  2. ^ "LIVA Miss Diva 2021 to allow Trans women to participate". beautypageants.indiatimes.com.
  3. ^ "Miss Diva 2021 calls on transwomen to participate". thestatesman.com.
  4. ^ "'Miss Diva 2021' includes transwomen in the contest". thehansindia.com.
  5. ^ ""LIVA Miss Diva 2021 accepting me for who I am is the best gift I could ask for," says Dipanjali Chhetri". beautypageants.indiatimes.com.
  6. ^ "Meet Dipanjali Chhetri, the first trans woman participant at LIVA Miss Diva 2021". economictimes.indiatimes.com.
  7. ^ "Dipanjali Chhetri, first transgender woman competes in LIVA Miss Diva 2021". economictimes.utkaltoday.com.
  8. ^ "Miss Diva: Beauty Pageant Entry Form | Apply Online for Miss Diva Beauty Contest". beautypageants.indiatimes.com.
  9. ^ "Exploring talent from across India, LIVA Miss Diva 2021, Miss Universe India 2021 goes digital". timesofindia.indiatimes.com.
  10. ^ "Winning LIVA Miss Diva 2021 is all about rewards, recognition, and opportunities!". beautypageants.indiatimes.com.
  11. ^ "LIVA Miss Diva 2021 Embraces The New Normal, Goes Digital But Still Unstoppable… Here Are All The Deets!". idiva.com.
  12. ^ "Unveiling the Top 19 finalists of LIVA Miss Diva 2021!". beautypageants.indiatimes.com.
  13. ^ "Instagram post stating the replacement of Akshita Shetty". indiatimes.com. Archived from the original on 24 December 2021.
  14. ^ "Unveiling of LIVA Miss Diva 2021 Top 50 Contestants!". beautypageants.indiatimes.com.
  15. ^ "Meet the 5 LIVA Wildcard Aspirants of LIVA Miss Diva 2021". beautypageants.indiatimes.com.
  16. ^ "Meet the jury of LIVA Miss Diva 2021 Top 50". beautypageants.indiatimes.com.