The show master Hugo D’Souza led through the first-ever „Miss India Germany 2003“ pageant. Hugo D’Souza, who has done many such pageant contests in the past, had been especially flown in for the event from Mumbai. Our correspondent Arunava Chaudhuri was able to speak with Hugo D’Souza.
How did you find tonight’s show compared to others you have done in the past?
The entire team is from outside, Jeevana Krishnan is the only one from within Germany. All the decisions, all the organising is coming from outside and considering all that it was a good show. The quality of the girls, standard of the contest was good. Their verbal skills were excellent, they thought on their feet, they thought under pressure and to that respect they lifted the contest to a good level. The winning girls – all of the three winners are very well qualified. They should do pretty well. Competition is really really tough at the worldwide level. I think they’ll have a little work to do. I think they need to brush-up on their verbal skills, probably confidence building and get ready for the contest.
Will you be going to San Francisco for the „Miss India Worldwide“ contest?
No. I will be going to Dubai on September 12 to do the „Miss India UAE“ show.
You have done beauty pageants, other shows and events back in India, in the middle East and elsewhere. What would you rate your most interesting event or what would you yourself call as your best show? Or is there any best show for you?
I wouldn’t say there is any best. Each show is unique, each show has it’s own memorable moments. Every show throws-up it’s stars, each throws-up nervous moments of things happening or not happening. So in that respect I can’t say one show is better than the other…
I enjoy doing beauty pageants just because you meet so many new, young people, who are aspiring to make a career in modelling or some of whom just coming there for the experience that would make them better people for whatever career they ultimately choose.
So an advantage in doing beauty pageants you meet women, young girls in that sense, as I can tell an own story, as I do a lot of football, which is just among men. It is a total different story meeting Baichung Bhutia and IM Vijayan or meeting Aishwarya Rai and others. (Laughter)
I know. It helps because my wife is very understanding, she says, as long when you are in Mumbai, you come home at night. That’s it.
How was it for you personally tonight? Do you think it was easy going, you had to fill-in a bit once in while.
You had to fill-in a bit because we were not ready with a lot of things. We did switch the venue at the last minute, so much of the preparations that we had put in place for the other venue, all that came to not, so you really had to do everything all over again. Even sounds, lights, stage, things like that, which we had today, were definitely not what had been planned. But they were pretty good, considering that it was a last minute effort, it’s a marvel that the event came-up to such a standard.
Is it your first-time in Germany?
It’s my first time in Europe.
Have you seen anything of Germany so far?
We drove a few hundred kilometres last night when it was dark. I enjoyed the drive!
We went all over the place to get printouts, link-up with various people and also to get inputs for the show. And thereby I really enjoyed the drive. It is a beautiful place. Just from the start when you come-in to land, you see a carpet of green with tinges of rust, which are the autumn colours, it’s more like the camouflage jackets your troops wear. It was very nice. I enjoyed the clusters of cottages and houses linked with the next cluster by roads. All this shows that the people really value their space, environment and want to be close to nature because there is a lot of nature any which way you go.
What are your future plans? Are you going to do such events on and on, or will you be changing into maybe into management or work on as a presenter?
My passion is presenting, so I never let go of that. I might just at one point of time decide that I should get into management of events. A number of people have been telling me, you need to get into that as you know everybody, you’ve worked with everybody. It not so easy, you know the problems only when you organize and you know the problems associated with managing an event. So hats of to anybody, who even attempts to manage an event. Because I know, I wouldn’t take a risk. But yes, maybe in the future I might get into that.
You’ve worked, according to your CV, with a number of famous fashion designers, musicians at others events. Which star would you say was rather easy working with?
I found most stars are very easy to work with as long as you are professional. I have never had any incidence with any star as yet. They have all been very kind, very cooperative, and extremely humane and human. They enjoy a good joke. You ask the right questions, you get the right inputs. I found them warm. They keep a distance – I am a star, you are not. Whether they are models, film stars, title holders at beauty pageants, I’ve worked with all of them and they are nice people to work with.
You’ve had a number of anecdotes and sort-of small stories tonight, which were very interesting and funny at times. Where do you get them from?
I have a lot of friends who keep sending me these anecdotes whenever they come across them. Then there is a lot of reading; then you meet friends, you enjoy exchanging jokes and you get a lot on the internet these days. The Internet is one big source for such anecdotes. And you apply them to the demand of the situation.
Thank you for the interview.
Thank you very much.
Picture: (c) Hugo D’Souza