The press launch of Pearl Entertainment’s 13th Annual Miss Showbiz India USA Beauty Pageant was held at the Chakra Restaurant here on Sept.13. The producers of the show presented the top 20 candidates who have made it to the final event which is to be held on Oct. 11 at the historic Alex Theater in Glendale.

The executive producer of the show Reshma Dordi said the celebrity emcee for the gala on Oct. 11 would be actor Asif Mandvi of  the ‘Daily Show with Jon Stewart’ fame. She said one of  the 20 girls being presented could even wind  up being the next “Bollywood Face” as producer Vikram Bhatt would be present and scouting for new talent.

She said she wants to make a difference in the life of  new contestants by  providing them with a platform to showcase the talent and beauty of  the girls in the competition  and create an environment in which they can grow socially, culturally and spiritually.

The emcee Tarun Shetty introduced the four judges for the afternoon who would decide the winners of  Most Beautiful  Eyes and  Hair contests - former Miss India Asia Pacific Vithika Agarwal, Screenwriter Mohit Ramchandani , Former Mrs Asia USA  Smita Salgaonkar  and Frank Mottek of  KNX1070 Newsradio.

Former Miss India and Bollywood actress Pooja Batra was on hand to support the organizers and congratulated the participants for making it to  the final leg of the pageant.

 The 20 lovely ladies were then introduced one by one and they then paraded twice before the judges for the  Eyes and Hair contest. The winners will be announced on Oct.11.

The girls who will compete for the crown are Nadia Ahmed, Priya Anantram, Neeti Arora, Taranum Bhatti, Smitha Bondade, Sara Chaudhri, Rajbir Dhaliwal, Shruti Dhalwala,Lakhbir Dhiman, Sophia Jafri, Chandan Kaur, Gurpreet Kaur, Parisa Mazarei, Rachna Mamidi, Sharanya Mukhopadhyay, Monica Nassirian, Marian Salib, Priyanka Singha, Melissa Singh and Melissa Cawthorne.