Lara Dutta excited over hunt for Miss India Universe 2016

Former #MissUniverse #LaraDutta is looking forward to mentoring 16 finalists who will compete with one another to represent the country at the prestigious Miss Universe pageant.

The journey of the contestants will be chronicled on "Yamaha Fascino Miss Diva - Miss Universe India 2016", a six-part series which will be aired on Colors Infinity starting August 27. It was launched amidst much fanfare and glitterati here on Wednesday.

Lara, who revealed the first look of the TV series through a promo launch, said: “I am looking forward to the journey of mentoring the 16 gorgeous finalists and starting the exciting shoot of the television series with them."

"The viewers will get a sneak peak into the high octane, glamorous journey these finalists will take this year and they will get a chance to be part of their journey as they race ahead to clinch the title."

The actress, who bagged the Miss Universe crown in 2000, said she will mentor the contestants on various parameters like elegance, confidence, poise, intelligence and the right attitude.

Shooting for the TV series will begin on August 18. There will be six episodes of glamour, fashion intelligence, grit, and beauty, and the finalists will be seen competing for various attributes like photo-shoot, ramp walk, TV commercial shoot, perfect body, bootcamp and more.

The finalists will also be seen entering The Diva Villa located at Madh island where they will live with their fellow contestants and be mentored by Lara as well as other industry experts.

Yamaha Fascino has partnered with the pageant as the title sponsor as it reflects the spirit of freedom and the desire to go beyond conventional boundaries. The brand aims to fascinate the youth by fulfilling their life with products and services.

The selected 16 finalists are Aayushi Arora, Alankrita Bora, Aradhana Buragohain, Avantika Masand, Heena Bhalla, Ishita Sachdeva, Monisha Ramesh, Muskan Deria, Natasha Bharadwaj, Richa Chaturvedi, Roshmitha Harimurthy, Sakshma Srivastav, Sophiya Singh, Srinidhi Shetty, Srishti Vyakaranam and Tanishq Sharma.