Are we ready for Bikini babes?

It sure is going to be an eye-popping event. The Miss Bikini India 2007 contest is slated to be held in Goa in December.

Girls from India have time and again excelled in international beauty pageants and have brought home the coveted tiaras: Miss World, Miss Universe, Miss Asia Pacific. You name it! Now, Bikini babes are set to arrive and make their mark at a pageant being organized by Niksan Info Media Pvt Ltd.
The event will be much like an Indian version of the Miss Bikini International.

But the big question is: Are we ready for such an event?

While on the one hand, a new Guinness record for largest swimwear photoshoot was recently created in Australia when 1,010 girls posed together in bikinis on Sydney’s Bondi Beach, on the other hand, Niksan Info Media in India is having tough time getting enough celebrities for Miss Bikini India 2007.

Sample this. As many as three Bollywood celebrities have turned down the offer to walk the ramp in a bikini for a special non-competitive segment of the event which is basically intended at celebrity endorsement to bring attention to the event. Malaika Arora , Jiah Khan and Esha Deol have refused to walk the catwalk in tiny two-piece outfits.

A representative of Niksan Info Media says the company did not anticipate such a show of inhibition from Bollywood beauties. Meanwhile, other celebrities have also been approached, but there is no final word from anyone yet.

Names that are being rumored around include those of celebrities like Bipasha Basu , Neha Dhupia and model Jesse Randhawa . But there is no official confirmation yet.

Sanjay Manocha from Niksan Info Media says Miss Bikini India is not a voyeuristic event but purely a trade event aimed at boosting the inner wear and undergarments industry.

When asked if India is ready for such an event, Manocha reasons that Indian lingerie and undergarments industry has boomed in last couple of years.

“We are not catering to any carnal interests of a group or individual. The event is basically for promoting the undergarment industry. We have to change with the times,” Manocha is quoted as saying.

The organizers are in talks with several corporate houses to sponsor Miss Bikini India contest. Some international celebrities are also likely to attend the event.