‘India’s Next Top Model’ picks Ahmedabad’s Riya as winner

Mumbai, Dec 16 (IANS) Riya Subodh, who hails from Ahmedabad, has been chosen as the winner of the third season of "Indias Next Top Model".

Sabita Karki and Shweta Raj emerged as the first and second runners-up respectively.

With the theme of "Fashion gets tough", this season not only transformed the lives of many young girls but also provided them with the confidence to own the world.

This season saw actress-model Malaika Arora as the host and head judge, actor Milind Soman joining photographer Dabboo Ratnani on the judging panel, and actress Anusha Dandekar and grooming expert Neeraj Gaba reprising their roles as mentors.

"'India's Next Top Model' is a lifetime experience for me. I am saying this because from all the contestants, I was the only one who had no experience of the big fashion world in big cities like Mumbai," Riya said in a statement.

"The biggest highlight for me was the photoshoot with Milind Sir and Malaika Ma'am. When I decided to take part in 'India's Next Top Model', I knew that this show is going to change my life forever so when judges announced my name as the winner I had all the memories coming back.

"As I look back, I must say that this wouldn't have been possible without my parent's support, and a special thanks to the makers of the show who gave me the new identity of a model," she added.

Before the ultimate battle of fashion, the show's top three faces -- Riya, Shweta and Sabita, got the chance to shoot for OPPO 2018 calendar.

After the photoshoot, Anusha and Gaba surprised the finalists by getting their family members and friends.

The season's last photoshoot was a family portrait.

While Shweta and Riya's family members were present for the shoot, Sabita's parents couldn't make it. Gaba and Anusha stepped in and posed with her as her family.

Singer Monica Dogra also performed live.

The episode was aired on MTV on Saturday.