How do you judge...

Demi HEWAMANNA

How many times have you heard people talking about how a judgment was passed when it came to a competition like fashion, music or just a random talent show? I guess you hear it everyday because people never stop talking about the 'bad' things and it's very rare when you hear someone 'complimenting' something.

There are many instances when you have been disappointed with the decisions made by judges when it comes to a beauty pageant. The choice that is usually chosen does get a lot of remarks because everyone believes 'favouritism' plays a big part in it. Most of the models that have been chosen to represent the country in that category have failed to impress in other lands but some who go without too much publicity or any do come back with an award or recognition and that is where the land of advertising come running in full speed to say "I'm going to make you a star"!

Well I guess the problem all hinges on the fact that maybe...'just maybe' we haven't got people who can judge true beauty or talent. Speaking to one of the international renowned judges who has judged the Mr. Earth 2011 held in Guatamala, Prassanna Pathmanathan spoke to ZEST about how best we can improve the judging criteria here. Prassanna is a graduate from University of Westminster UK and a gold medalist and one of the youngest Chartered Markerters in Sri Lanka. In his time he lectures and mentors undergraduates in their research thesis and very recently he together with his research students presented three papers at the International Conference on Business and Technology in New Delhi while also chairing a session there (being the first youngest Sri Lankan to do so). Doing all this, he also has mastered his talent in the world of fashion , doing shows such as the Flamboyance 2011 and judging many other events and helping upcoming models make their mark in the industry.

Q: What do you think is lacking in the people who organize so many events and fail to give what they promised?

Prassanna with our very own Mr. Water for Mr. Earth 2011 Milinda

Prassanna with Mr. Earth

A: I think professionalism lack in most of the aspects of our pageants. Over here the contestants were selected and given rigorous training on cat walk and to pause for a picture, personal grooming and may be one or two sessions to face an interview. But, that is not at all sufficient to prepare a contestant for an international pageant. Personality development, language fluency, communication skills, PR skills, dinning etiquettes, social behaviour, general knowledge, facing any type of unplanned pageantry questions, cross cultural considerations, greetings, nutrition and many other factors should be taken into consideration and given training to the contestants to face the challenge in an international arena which lack in our pageants.

In Sri Lanka what we see in our pageants is beautiful girls and handsome guys walking on the ramp and one question been asked at the end of the event to decide the winner of the pageant. What we see out, I mean the outer appearance of the contestant is not the only thing the international pageants are looking at. It's more than that. Beauty is just one element which you can score, but our contestants only believe in their outer appearance to win the pageant. Therefore, I think this should change in Sri Lankan beauty pageants and we should produce world class contestants which we already have.

Q: Do you think we have the capability of putting up a show like the one you experienced a few months back?

A: Definitely yes. We have all the capability to put up a world class show in Sri Lanka. Only problem we have is the talents are not identified or used properly in our pageantry industry. "I know all" attitude simply kills our capability of putting a world class event. Reason been, most of our industry professionals don't like to seek advice or guidance from others who are specialized on certain areas. If all the professionals in the pageantry/beauty industry get together forgetting their competition, personal problems and negative attitudes I am sure we can produce amazing contestants for international pageants and we can obviously win and make a name to our country.

"In my first ever international judging panel, I was taken back when I met my fellow other judges. You are not introduced to them till the day of the finals", Prassanna was saying. When I went in, no one knew I was a director representing Sri Lanka. I together with Milinda (Mr. Water for Mr. Earth 2011) traveled to all the places that we were taken to and were even featured on interviews that were telecasted on National channel. Along with the contestants the camera crew and the photographer came along. To keep them fit and in shape they got a personal trainer. In the evening they were served dinner by a young lady who was revealed (later on) to be more than just a person who served dinner.

On the very first day, training began for the final catwalk and then we were taken to all sorts of places in the city. As the contestants were doing all this little did they know that they were being judged by certain people amongst them. The 'judges' looked on how they greet, their etiquette, friendliness, fashion, hygiene and their nutrition - simple things that one would simply imaging they wouldn't look at.

But the major thing they looked at was 'punctuality'. By 6 am you have to get up, by 7 am you have to have breakfast and by 8 am everyone has to be seated in the bus. They give only five minutes for anyone who is getting late and if they are not there at that time the bus leaves plus points are cut on the country that has got late. Finally on the day of the final competition came- the judges were revealed. Who were they? One was the photographer who was snapping away their pictures, the lady who served dinner and happens to be an ecologist and psychologist, their personal trainer and others who were just ordinary people. As the contestants were called up, they were really surprised to see them. Some were happy and some were very upset as they knew how they behaved in front of them. "Lot of people confuse model pageants with beauty pageants", Prassanna went on saying. When you are a model, you look at a good figure and a good face. When you look at a beauty pageant, you look for charisma, personality, height and so much more. We have so many talented people who can be a Mr. or Miss World but they are simply not recognized.

Q: What have you lined up for the future?

A: There are many things lined up for next year. I was invited to come and judge Mr. Mexico 2012 next year which is held at the Mexico City, Mexico. Moreover, I am on negotiation with certain national directors over here to put up a pageant in an international way mentioned above. Also, I am working on with some international fashion assignments.

Moreover, two fashion shows were lined up for next year. One is a designer contest and another is a pure fashion show to create awareness about mental disorders among people. Also, I have being asked by certain directors to train contestants who represent Sri Lanka in International pageants next year on personality development, etiquette and prepare them for interviews.