Gone are the days when a clean shaven look was favoured. Today there is a growing obsession with keeping a beard with the whole month of November popularly termed as No-shave-ember, dedicated to the beard look. More recently Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli was in the news for getting his beard ‘insured’, although this was later put down to being a marketing gimmick for an ad. It was thus about time that bearded men get a pageant of their very own.
And the recent Beard for Baby ( so called because it’s all about how you treat your beard as a baby), a beard model hunt was held recently and saw Goa’s very own Milin Tendulkar from Uccasaim bagging the title Mr Beard India 2018.
The auditions for the Beard Model Hunt 2018 were held in 13 different cities in India namely Ajmer, Alwar, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Delhi, Goa, Hubli, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Pune, Udaipur and Vadodara early this year. Around 16 contestants were selected from these auditions to participate in the finale which was held at Rajasthan. Out of the 16 finalists, 7 participants were from Goa .
“It was not just about the beard, the contest was also about how you carry yourself through the various other challenges that were posed for the contestants during the two days of the event. The participants had to perform strength tasks, group discussions where in the contestants were judged on the IQ level and confidence, grooming, and ramp walk where we were judged on the basis of how we carry ourselves in the outfits designed by some of the guest designers. There was also a question and answer round,” says Tendulkar, a diploma holder in mechanical engineer who is now into real estate.
Tendulkar also enjoys snooker and has participated in a number of championships. However, this is the first pageant title that he has won.
But what made him start giving so much attention to his beard? “The main reason to start growing the beard was because of the increasing grey hair which gave me a salt and pepper look. Instead of getting rid of it, I decided to pamper it a bit more,” says Tendulkar, who has been maintaining a beard for the last three and a half years.
“I use a beard oil, trim it regularly to keep it in shape, shampoo it, apply conditioner and ensure that proper care is taken,” he states. In fact, Tendulkar believes that the salt and pepper look helped him stand out among the other contestants.
Tendulkar now hopes to be a model for others. “In the final round, I was asked ‘What would be your role if you become a model in future” to which I said ‘once you become a model, it shouldn’t be about showing off your image to everyone. I want to help other upcoming models and also take up some social cause,” he says. Tendulkar is now working a various photoshoots for beard brands and is all excited about being a part of an upcoming music Punjabi music album.
