Miss Diva Universe India 2020 - Adline Castelino

Adline Mewis Castelino as we all know has won Miss Diva 2020. There is so much we think we know about our Miss Diva Universe. We know about her height and chocolate obsession but do we know what it really takes to represent India at an Universal pageant?

Today I am going to give you all a little behind the scenes of becoming Miss Diva India Universe. I am going to show you all everything from my point of view. So that you can have an idea of the kind of opinions and concerns that I had at the moment as a friend. My thoughts were different from other people. I had my own doubts at first which slowly shifted throughout the journey. So lets get on with the story.

It all started when Adline was a little girl going to Indian Central School in Kuwait. Her classmate, a little girl herself used to call her Miss Universe. She didn’t know what she was calling her at the time but later on reaching home found out that it was a universal pageant. She got hooked on to the idea for a while but eventually let it go. Growing up she thought that being a doctor or a brain surgeon, to be specific, would be the best path for her. Why? Because all the smart Indian kids became either doctors or engineers. If you were anything else you were considered a failure in life. That was particularly the situation in Kuwait at the time. How do I know this? Kuwaiti with an Indian passport #loveIndia.

Anyway, as I was saying.... she wanted to become a doctor but destiny had something else in store for her. She decided to come to Mumbai to continue her education and give dance a shot. (She’s a brilliant dancer) She eventually dropped the idea and focused on college where she participated in various fashion shows and represented her college.

Destiny directed her to Miss TGPC or The Great Indian Pageant Community. Now this was hard work. Lights, camera, action multiplied by a million times until the entertainment disappears out of the entertainment industry. Plain and simple, old fashioned hard work. Perfecting the walk a million times, change in camera angles, re-shooting because of dim lighting, searching for perfect background location and lighting, a million outfit changes and reapplication of makeup. It had to be perfect or re-shoot. That was the last word I wanted to hear after a long day of shooting but it was inevitable.

Adline won Miss TGPC, The Great Indian Pageant community. I knew from day one she would win and not because she was my friend but because she was a fighter and a sucker for perfection. Even perfect wasn’t enough for her. It had to be great and even if it was great she would re-shoot to see if it could be done better. So I had a complete poker face on when she won because I wasn’t surprised, it had to be her. I knew that the judges would really have to be completely corrupt if she didn’t win. This girl wouldn’t stop till she won.

Adline also faced a difficult moment of rejection and completely turned it around in her favour. She used it as a challenge to better herself. If it were anyone else they would have given up. But that is not in her dictionary. I told you she’s perfect. Naa... she’s not and neither is anybody but she is one thing strong and hardworking.

She is one tough cookie. When people are mean she is sweet, when they insult her she compliments them, when they are rude she blesses them. That is Adline for you. She is really the kill em with kindness kind of person and I’m the I will whoop your ass if you mess with my best friend kind of person.

Back to the story. So, during Miss TGPC she had already decided that she would be the next Miss Universe. Everyone was convincing her to go for Miss World but in her heart she knew she was Miss Universe material after all the Universe was directing her there, manifesting her vision into reality. All God’s wonderful plan being fulfilled in her life. So she decided that Miss Universe was the way to go. At first we were a bit worried about the bikini round. I was a bit sceptical. I had no problem with her wearing a bikini but she was never comfortable doing that round before and she eventually changed her mind. I was a strong believer of you should stand by your own principles. I guess all that doesn’t really matter in the long run. If you are true to yourself then nothing should stop you. You can always have changing ideas and perceptions. Adline was never a rigid person. Most of our friendly then not so friendly debates used be about this. She was very fluid and open minded and I used to be quite rigid when we first met. I had fixed notions and stuck by them like glue. They were not wrong but neither were they progressive. Now I have hopefully changed thanks to Adline's constantly contradicting ideas. She’s always ready for a debate and both of us are equally competitive but she has a tendency to win.

So I eventually got over the fact that she was going to wear a bikini. As long as she’s happy I’m happy. I still feel that a lot of women hesitate to participate because of the bikini round. Miss Universe Pageant has to realise that women of different communities prefer to dress differently. Some women are comfortable in a bikini and some in a burka. I personally feel that a woman should be given a choice of what she wants to wear as she is the only one who should have monopoly over her own body.

Finally the pageant arrives and Adline goes out of network. She doesn’t talk to anyone. Nobody has any idea of what is happening. I was hoping that the Aliens didn’t kidnap her. I got a few messages but that wasn’t proof enough. Aliens could figure out how to use Whats app and take over the world, one Miss Universe at a time. So in plain words I was angry. My birthday wishes came a few hours late but I guess it’s all a part of the job description. PS: She gave a perfectly good explanation for it. So all’s well that ends well.

So the moral of all that long talk was to tell you that she is extremely hard working and dedicated to follow her dream. She didn’t eat ice cream or chocolates for months even when I was a total douche and ate in front of her hoping that she would quit her lame strict diet. Her diet was so sad I don’t even want to mention it. She used to cook her own food and eat before every audition. She used to pack her tiffin with stinky smelly protein shakes every day. This is one strong willed woman. The gym got more frequent visits than me making me a jealous cat and I purred.

That wasn’t all. Nobody knows this about Adline but I have to say this just in case anyone thinks that Pageants are easy.

So here it goes...

Adline stopped taking money from home after college. She used to somehow make ends meet with the little money she used to get from photo shoots and that was not much. There were times were she literally had no money but still somehow managed to take care of herself. She left her old home a few days before the pageant for good so that she could save on the rent. I don’t know how you see this but I see this as one strong woman who I am very proud of. The pageant was her only bet she went all in or all home. She laid all her coins on the table and played brilliantly well.

And for all those people who doubted her or bullied her in the competition I just wanted to remind you how kind and forgiving Adline is but her best friend is not. In the end God always helps good people and victory is for those with a pure heart.

So I’m definitely sure that Adline Mewis Castelino will definitely bring home the Miss Universe 2020 crown. I also wanted to remind her that we are all proud of her. She needs our support, so show her your love.

Thank you.

Decidel Godinho