If you think that a beauty pageant is all about smiling good looking contestants and everything merry; the latest controversy will shock you.

The grand finale of Face of the World – Nepal Edition took place on 9th March at Heritage Garden, Sanepa in Kathmandu where Sohil Subedi and Sneha Jargah Magar came out as the winners and will be representing Nepal at Face of the World pageant in London later this year in November. Sagar Lama and Megha Pradhan were announced as the runners up and the title winner Sneha had also won the sub-titles of Miss Talent, Miss Best Walk and Best Figure in the pageant.

Well, everything was going pretty smooth until Pahilo Post released a leaked phone conversation between Piyush Karn, the country director of Face of the World for Nepal; and a contestant on Sunday. The eight-minute phone call has Karn telling the contestant about all the ‘prices’ to win the titles in the finale.

The Birgunj resident tells the male contestant he is talking with over the phone that the price for the main title is between Rs 800,000 to a million. He tells him that the other contestants will easily give him up to a million for the main title. He further adds that the price for the runner up position will be a little less. He tells him that other contestants are giving him Rs. 650,000 for the second runner up position and if he wishes to win that title, price will be the same for him. While the contestant keeps on bargaining saying he doesn’t have that amount of money with him, Karn tries to convince him by telling him the benefits of winning a title. He says that the contestant will easily make Rs. 50,000 a month in Kathmandu from the ramp shows once he has a title. He adds that he might even have the chance to walk the ramps on fashion shows in Delhi and Bengluru where he will get Rs. 100,000.

As the contestant keeps telling him that he doesn’t have the money, Karn asks him to see if his friends can help and manage. He also reminds him to pay the remaining Rs. 25,000 to get in the Top 7 as he already has paid half of it, that is Rs. 25,000. He promises that he will get him a sub-title if he pays the remaining amount. After several minutes of bargaining over the phone, he gives him the last offer of Rs. 530,000 for the second runner up position. He also promises him that he will give him some extra training outside to practice for the question-answer round. He even gives him the hope that he might even give him the questions that will be asked in the finale.

Karn is even heard telling the contestant, “It’s fashion line; and in fashion line, body is sold, money is sold, ass is sold, a lot of things are sold.”

When Pahilo Post contacted Karn, he denied to talk and asked to talk to his manager Naresh, who denied all the allegations.

Well, it’s pretty obvious from the phone conversation that the pageant had nothing to do with fair decision and judgement. You can listen to the entire conversation that took place in Hindi here.

[You can directly listen to it on YouTube from HERE]

We actually don’t have anything to say to Karn as we know that every industry has some filthy people who are an embarrassment to the entire fraternity. But we do have something to say to the contestants who look for a short-cut and get trapped by such people: Nobody is going to give you work just because you won one of the dozens of pageants that take place every single year, unless you have the potential and talent. Genuine pageants are the best platforms to groom yourself as they prepare you for the future even if you don’t win anything. Take part in only those pageants that you believe will genuinely help you in getting better, and learning new things; not just any random pageant. And most importantly, never do anyone a favor to win a title. It won’t help. You’ll never feel confident about yourself as even if nobody else knows, you’ll always know that you didn’t win the title because you deserved it but because you paid for it. And even if you get a chance to represent Nepal in an international platform, you’ll just be an embarrassment for the country and nothing else. That’s all we have to say!