From the jungles and the ocean came the beauties
The lights dimmed and against a backdrop recreating the splendour of medieval Sri Lanka, 13 beautiful queens appeared on stage at the glittering finals of the Siyatha-Facia Miss World Sri Lanka 2015 at the Colombo Hilton Grand Ballroom last Monday.
Winner Thilini Amarasooriya with 1st Runner -up (L) Jayathi De Silva and 2nd Runner- up Ayesha Fernando. Pix by Indika Handuwala
Competing for the prestigious Miss World Sri Lanka title were 13 semi-finalists who had undergone months of rigorous training under Sri Lanka’s top professionals in fashion and modelling.
A brief introduction of each contestant followed the opening segment – ‘Beauties of Orient- Queens of Sri Lanka’ choreographed by Senaka De Silva during which 13 contestants were brought on stage, by the Channa-Upuli dance troupe.
The girls took the ramp once again to the exhilarating beats of percussion band Naadro during the ‘Glamour from the Wilderness’ segment –a collection of Safari Resort Wear by Eric Suriyasena whose impressive designs included rustic, animal print batik adorned with simple jewellery.
Setting the perfect mood for the evening were performances by Bathiya and Santhush and the Channa Upuli dance troupe.
As the entertainment continued, it was time for some of the former Miss World Sri Lanka title holders, including the 1993 title holder to make an appearance much to the delight of the audience.
Crowning moment and (below) contestants on stage
Next, the contestants took to the stage in elegant evening gowns, designed by Dhananjaya Bandara, for the announcement of the winners of the mini pageant.
Thilini Amarasuriya walked away with three mini titles –Facia Radiant Skin, Sure Slim Body Beautiful and Gold Jojoba Face of the Year, while Jayathi De Silva bagged the Miss Personality title sponsored by the NSB.
The mini title for the Most Beautiful Smile sponsored by Denta went to Shamali Dilshani while Rashmi Senadhira won the Miss Talent title sponsored by Singer Mega in addition to the Jetwing Dances of Sri Lanka.
Shalini Attanayake walked away with the title of Hilton Colombo Miss Sports and Fitness while Sanju Kavisha won KAMSINS Most Beautiful in Eastern Wear title.
Senuri Dissanayake won the Mini title for Miss Congeniality courtesy Arpico Super Centre.
Suspense was building as the top five – Ishanka De Alwis, Thilini Amarasooriya, Shanika Shamini, Ayesha Fernando and Jayanthi De Silva faced their final challenge – the judges’ questions.
The panel of judges comprised actor Ravindra Randeniya, General Manager Hilton Colombo, Manesh Fernando, Beautician/Entrepreneur and Grooming Instructress Wena Goeiyana, former Mrs. Singapore Nisrina Hidayah and Miss Universe Sri Lanka 2012 Sabrina Herft.
Amidst cheers and applause, came the moment that everybody was waiting for- as charming Thilini Amarasooriya was crowned the Siyatha-Facia Miss World Sri Lanka 2015.
Jayathi De Silva was adjudged the First Runner-up while Ayesha Fernando was the Second Runner-up.
In keeping with the pageant’s theme -Beauty for a Cause, the proceeds from this year’s Siyatha-Facia Miss World Sri Lanka contest were channelled to Samastha Lanka Kidney Patients Association.
President Maithripala Sirisena who graced the function presented a cheque to the Association on behalf of Model Shop – the organizers of this year’s Miss World Sri Lanka who seemed to have put in a great deal of effort in putting together a remarkable pageant.
Her dream to wear a shimmering crown comes trueAs a child she would watch the beauty pageants on TV with one dream… to become a queen and wear that shimmering crown.Inspired by the manner in which Jacqueline Fernandez walked down the ramp, moments after winning the coveted Ms. Sri Lanka title and her subsequent journey to Bollywood – 20-year-old Thilini Amarasooriya decided to follow her role model’s footsteps, by taking to modelling immediately after leaving school. Basking in the joy of her victory, moments after she was crowned this year’s Miss World Sri Lanka, Thilini shared with the Sunday Times her thoughts about winning the prestigious title. Hailing from Kiribathgoda, Thilini is an old girl of Vihara Maha Devi Girls’ School Kiribathgoda. Although she had done dancing and swimming at school, modelling had been her passion. “I knew I would be able to go a long way in this industry and that is the reason why I took up modelling soon after leaving school,” she says. She attributes her success to the exposure she got while being trained under professionals like Senaka De Silva and Rozanne Dias, but she had many obstacles to face. In 2013, when she took part in the Miss World Sri Lanka contest, she was able to win a mini title and reach the sixth position. She returned to her training once more to work on the areas that needed improvement before she made a second attempt at this year’s pageant- targeting more mini titles and the crown. “I was determined to win this time although at first I felt like there was only a 50/50 chance. I was somewhat relieved to reach the top 5 and once the names of the runners up were introduced, I knew it was a sure win,” she smiled. Thilini will fly to China at the end of November to take part in the world pageant in December and says she has a lot more to work on – personality development, catwalk, and public speaking etc. “I need to make my country proud at the world pageant,” she says adding that her desire is to use her title to help underprivileged children to continue in their education. |