Times Mister India, aka Mister India World, is a beauty pageant and organization that selects the India's official representative to the Mister World pageant.[1]

Mister India
TypeMen's beauty pageant
Franchise holderThe Times Group
Parent organizationFemina
HeadquartersMumbai, India
Country representedIndia
Qualifies forMister World
First edition2014 (May)
Most recent edition2024 (July)
LanguageHindi, English

History

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The Times Group, the owner of the franchises for Femina Miss India and Miss Diva, launched Mister India in May 2014, holding its inaugural edition as "Mr India 2014" The pageant continued with consecutive editions until 2016. It then went on an extended temporary hiatus due to delays in the conduct of Mister World pageant, which resulted in no annual national competitions being held from 2018 to 2023.[2][3]

The winner of the Times Mister India pageant primarily represents India at Mister World. Additionally, Mister India sent delegates to Mister Supranational from 2016 to 2021, with a separate digital edition held in 2021 to specifically select a representative for that year's Mister Supranational 2021 competition.[4][5]

Marking its return in 2024, the Mister India pageant held its 6th edition on July 20th. This marked the longest hiatus between editions, with seven years having passed since the last competition held in 2017 formally on-stage. Also, the Mister India 2024 edition featured the highest number of shortlisted contestants (thirty-five) compared to any previous edition.[6]

International Victories

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India has participated in the Mister World pageant since its inception. In 2014, the Times Group began sending representatives to the competition. Prateik Jain, India's inaugural participant (Times), achieved a Top 10 finish at the Mister World 2014 pageant and was also crowned Mister World Continental King of Asia.

In 2016, Rohit Khandelwal secured India's first and, to date, only Mister World title. This historic win also marked the first time an Asian contestant had claimed the coveted crown. That same year, Jitesh Naresh Thakur represented India at the inaugural Mister Supranational pageant, earning the position of second runner-up and the title of Mister Supranational Asia.

In 2018, Prathamesh Maulingkar became the first Indian and Asian winner of the Mister Supranational pageant. This achievement solidified India's position as the first country to have won both the Miss and Mister Supranational titles.

Rahul Rajasekharan was the last Indian representative to the Mister Supranational pageant selected by the Times Group. Since its inaugural edition until 2021, the Times Group has sent five representatives to the Mister Supranational pageant. All of their representatives have placed in the finals bagging 4 continental titles, with one winning the Mister Supranational title, one being the 2nd Runner-up and three in the Top 10.

Titles

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Number of wins under
Times Mister India
Pageant Wins
Mister World 1
Mister Supranational 1

Note that the year designates the time Times Mister India has acquired that particular pageant franchise.

Current
Past

Editions

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Below is the complete list of Times Mister India editions.

Year Date Mister India Entrants Pageant venue Broadcaster
2014 May 8, 2014 Prateik Jain 14 D'Bell, Parel, Mumbai Zoom TV
2015 July 11, 2015 Rohit Khandelwal 15 Club Royalty, Mumbai
2016 December 11, 2016 Vishnu Raj Menon 16
2017 December 14, 2017 Jitesh Singh Deo 16 Castella de Aguada, Mumbai
2019 September 26, 2019 Varun Verma None Rocky Star Cocktail Bar, Mumbai Official Social Media Handle
2021 June 8, 2021 Rahul Rajasekharan 12 Virtual pageant
2024 July 20, 2024 Gokul Ganesan 35 Mumbai

Titleholders

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Edition Date Mister India Current titles Former titles
Mister India World 1st Runner-up 2nd Runner-up Mister India Supranational
1 May 2014 Prateik Jain Prateik Jain Puneet Beniwal Bharat Raj None
2 July 2015 Rohit Khandelwal Rohit Khandelwal Rahul Rajasekharan Prateek Gujral Jitesh Thakur
3 December 2016 Vishnu Raj Menon Vishnu Raj Menon Varun Verma Devesh Khanduja Altamash Faraz
4 December 2017 Jitesh Singh Deo Jitesh Singh Deo Abhi Khajuria Pavan Rao Prathamesh Maulingkar
September 2019 Varun Verma No pageant held instead appointed by Miss India Organization. Varun Verma
5 June 2021 Rahul Rajasekharan A virtual competition was held solely to select the representative for Mister Supranational 2021. Rahul Rajasekharan
6 July 2024 Gokul Ganesan Gokul Ganesan Not awarded None

Placements in international pageants

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The following is the placement of Times Mister India titleholders in international pageants.

  •   : Declared as Winner
  •   : Ended as runner-up or top 5/6 qualification
  •   : Ended as one of the finalist/Semi-finalists
  •   : Unplaced but given special award(s)
Mister World
Year Delegate Age[α] Hometown Competition performance
Placements Special award(s)
2014 Prateik Jain 25 Bangalore Top 10
6 Special Awards
    • Continental King of Asia and Oceania
    • Shot-Put – Winner
    • The Tug-O-War – Team Winner
    • Mister Multimedia – 1st Runner up
    • Talent Round – Top 21
    • Extreme sports – Top 24
2016 Rohit Khandelwal 27 Hyderabad Mister World 2016
1 Special Award
    • Mister Multimedia - Winner
2019 Vishnu Raj Menon 28 Thrissur Unplaced
1 Special Award
    • Mister Multimedia - 2nd Runner-up
2024 Gokul Ganesan 24 Chennai TBA
3 Special Award
    • Top 12 – Top Model
    • Top 20 – Head-to-Head Challenge
    • Top 36 – Talent Round
Mister Supranational
Year Delegate Age[α] Hometown Competition performance
Placements Special award(s)
2016 Jitesh Naresh Thakur 27 Rajasthan 2nd Runner-up
3 Special Awards
    • Mister Supranational Asia – Winner
    • Top Model – Winner
    • Mister Mobstar – 3rd Runner-up
2017 Altamash Faraz 26 New Delhi Top 10
4 Special Awards
    • Mister Supranational Asia & Oceania – Winner
    • Best in Swimsuit – 1st Runner-up
    • Extreme Race – 1st Runner-up
    • Best in Streetwear – 3rd Runner-up
2018 Prathamesh Maulingkar 27 Tivim Mister Supranational 2018
2 Special Awards
    • Best Body – Winner
    • Mister Social Media – Winner
2019 Varun Verma 27 New Delhi Top 10
3 Special Awards
    • Mister Supranational Asia – Winner
    • Mister Supra Fan Vote – Top 10
    • Digital Influencer – Top 10
2021 Rahul Rajasekharan 32 Thrissur Top 10
4 Special Awards
    • Mister Supranational Asia – Winner
    • Mister Supra Chat – Winner
    • Digital Influencer – Top 10
    • Mister Supra Fan Vote – Top 10
Note:
  • Age at the time of the international pageant

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Mr India 2024 makes a grand return with its latest edition!". femina.in.
  2. ^ "Provogue MensXP Mr India World 2014: Meet The 14 Finalists". mensxp.com.
  3. ^ "Mr India World 2014 winners announced". business-standard.com.
  4. ^ "Journey of Prathamesh Maulingkar from Mr.India to Mister Supranational". femina.in.
  5. ^ "Kerala's Rahul Rajasekharan is all set to represent India at Mister Supranational 2021 in Poland". indiatimes.com.
  6. ^ "The search for India's next Mr India begins, Meet the Top 35 finalists". femina.in.