| Mister India | |
| Type: | Men's beauty pageant |
| Franchise Holder: | The Times Group |
| Organization: | Femina |
| Headquarters: | Mumbai, India |
| Pageant Region: | Country |
| Region Represented: | India |
| Qualification: | Mister World |
| First: | 2014 (May) |
| Recent: | 2024 (July) |
| Language: | Hindi, English |
| Leader Title1: | National Director |
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]
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 will hold its 6th edition on July 20th. This marks 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 features the highest number of shortlisted contestants (thirty-five) compared to any previous edition.[6]
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.
| Number of wins under Times Mister India | |
|---|---|
| Pageant | Wins |
| Mister World | 1 |
| Mister Supranational | 1 |
Below is the complete list of Times Mister India editions.
| Year | Date | Mister India | Entrants | Pageant venue | Broadcaster | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=center | 2014 | align=center | May 8, 2014 | align=center | Prateik Jain | align=center | 14 | align=center | D'Bell, Parel, Mumbai | align=center rowspan=4 | Zoom TV |
| align=center | 2015 | align=center | July 11, 2015 | align=center | Rohit Khandelwal | align=center | 15 | align=center rowspan=2 | Club Royalty, Mumbai | ||
| align=center | 2016 | align=center | December 11, 2016 | align=center | Vishnu Raj Menon | align=center | 16 | ||||
| align=center | 2017 | align=center | December 14, 2017 | align=center | Jitesh Singh Deo | align=center | 16 | align=center | Castella de Aguada, Mumbai | ||
| align=center | 2019 | align=center | September 26, 2019 | align=center | Varun Verma | align=center | None | align=center | Rocky Star Cocktail Bar, Mumbai | align=center rowspan=3 | Official Social Media Handle |
| align=center | 2021 | align=center | June 8, 2021 | align=center | Rahul Rajasekharan | align=center | 12 | align=center | Virtual pageant | ||
| align=center | 2024 | align=center | July 20, 2024 | align=center | Gokul Ganesan | align=center | 35 | align=center | Mumbai | ||
| 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 | ||
| 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 | Varun Verma | |||||
| 5 | June 2021 | Rahul Rajasekharan | Rahul Rajasekharan | ||||
| 6 | July 2024 | Gokul Ganesan | Gokul Ganesan | Not awarded | |||
The following is the placement of Times Mister India titleholders in international pageants.
| Year | Delegate | Age | Hometown | Competition performance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Placements | ||||||
| 2014 | Prateik Jain | 25 | Bangalore | |||
| 2016 | Rohit Khandelwal | 27 | Hyderabad | Mister World 2016 | ||
| 2019 | Vishnu Raj Menon | 28 | Thrissur | Unplaced | ||
| 2024 | Gokul Ganesan | 24 | Chennai | |||
| Year | Delegate | Age | Hometown | Competition performance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Placements | ||||||
| 2016 | Jitesh Naresh Thakur | 27 | Rajasthan | |||
| 2017 | Altamash Faraz | 26 | New Delhi | Top 10 | ||
| 2018 | Prathamesh Maulingkar | 27 | Tivim | Mister Supranational 2018 | ||
| 2019 | Varun Verma | 27 | New Delhi | Top 10 | ||
| 2021 | Rahul Rajasekharan | 32 | Thrissur | Top 10 | ||