Will the real Alana Seebarran please stand up! is based on a video featuring former Miss India Guyana, Lucria Rambalak, being interviewed on her experiences as a beauty queen and her plans to enter Bollywood.
Reigning Miss India Guyana and Miss India Worldwide, Alana Seebarran’s comments implied that Lucria was claiming her achievement, and includes (almost tangentially) my explanation that it was in error.
As founder and principal of Apsara Entertainment, the local franchise holder for Miss India Worldwide, I find not only the sensationalism bent on the article as scandalous in itself, but the entire premise upon which the article was written as completely absurd.
The publisher of the Youtube video labeled “Miss India [sic] Guyana Exclusive Interview” put up what was clearly an unedited and uncaptioned video, with a description containing the words: “Alana Seebarran of Guyana was crowned Miss India Worldwide 2012 during a glittering beauty pageant held in Paramaribo, the capital city of Suriname…” et al, taken verbatim from the Indian Festival Committee official website, WorldWidePageants.com.
It should be noted that the publisher of that video, listed simply as “India Today” – and with no clear association to the actual India Today media group – has a total of five videos uploaded, all around the same date as the videos in question, none of which are original and the rest of which have a combined total of about 2100 views at the time of the release, compared to the 1800 views of the video featuring Lucria labeled as “Alana Seebarran.
At no point in the interview did Lucria Rambalak claim to be or to even be representing Ms. Seebarran, nor was she wearing any label, tag, or paraphernalia to suggest as much. When she answered questions with regard to a contest and competition, albeit somewhat interchangeably, it was on her pageant experience as Miss India Guyana and a Miss Guyana second runner up prizewinner.
In contrast, there is a video on the Miss India Magazine Youtube channeling, professionally edited, well-captioned, featuring Miss Seebarran as interviewed by photographer Raj Suri – as franchise-holder, this is a video I fully endorse.
The accusation of a conspiracy loses further credence by the fact that Lucria undertook several interviews and accompanying photoshoots as Lucria Rambalak, former Miss India Guyana and Miss Guyana runner up, like the one available on MissMalini.com and http://frontierindia.org for example. It therefore defies logic and basic common sense that Apsara would fraudulently represent Ms. Rambalak as Ms. Seebarran, and in the public domain of all places, when such a misrepresentation would inevitably cast a shadow upon our enterprise, as even this mistaken misrepresentation has.
Apsara Entertainment group as another achievement after successfully bringing the first international queen title home to Guyana was critically involved in negotiating for a chance of a Guyanese queen to make an entrance into Bollywood, this however became a reality with a Private Company of Guyana and India.
The first candidate who was selected and offered the opportunity was the current Miss India Worldwide 2012 Alana Seebarran. However, she declined and rejected the offer, because of the terms and conditions of the contract.
The next person, based on credentials who was approached and offered was Miss India Guyana 2010 and second runner up Miss Guyana Lucria Rambalak who agreed and accepted the terms and conditions of the contract, hence, signing it. It should be made clear that this opportunity was made possible because of Apsara Entertainment and A Private Company as a separate project and is not in ANYWAY related to the Miss India Worldwide title or committee.
Apart from that project, the prizes awarded including a trip to India and a television interview, in which she recently executed, was also locally sponsored.
Contrary to what the Kaieteur article asserts, the Apsara contingent’s trip to India was a multipurpose visit, one of which was Ms. Seebaran’s trip as part of the package provided by a private sponsor, as negotiated by Apsara Entertainment. Franchise holder and CEO of APSARA as a kind gesture decided to extend their stay in India to accompany Miss Seebarran on her trip, since it was her first time to India.
Ms. Seebarran cannot therefore imply that Rambalak’s presence on that trip either infringed upon or usurped her own entitlements, all of which she has received in full.
Ms. Seebarran’s activities as Miss India Guyana/Miss India Worldwide come under the aegis of Apsara Entertainment, and not vice versa.
(Chandini Ramnarain, APSARA Entertainment).