LIKE a good Bollywood movie, there was no shortage of drama.

Where once there was only one, there are now three.

Previously, if you referred to a Miss India Singapore, you actually meant the winner of the Miss India Singapore Worldwide pageant, which has been running for 17 years.

But this year saw two new contests: Miss Singapore Indian Universal and Miss Indian International. All three are ongoing.

Not only that, two of them, Worldwide and Universal, are even holding their finals on the same day: 29Dec.

Confusing?

'Great amount of confusion, I'd say,' said Ms Sashi, 40, the choreographer and organiser of Worldwide.

She added that she has had a lot of calls asking her if hers was the 'real' one.

Obviously, Ms Sashi's team is not pleased with the competition.

Her talent choreographer, Miss Jacintha Sujiathia, 23, claimed that their goodwill is being taken advantage of.

'They don't say they are not the official one,' she complained of the other two contests.

Ms Sashi said the other pageants shouldn't have come up with names so similar to theirs.

She also questioned if the Universal pageant is linked to an international competition like Miss India Worldwide, which will be held in South Africa on 27 Feb next year.

Ms Jackeline Carter, director of iGlamour, which holds the Universal licence, said Universal was a title she had created. It has no international equivalent.

However, she said that two winners of Universal will compete in international contests, one in London for the Miss India World title and the other in California for the Miss South Asia title.

As for opting for the Universal title instead of something more similar to the two international titles, she said one reason is cost. It's cheaper to trademark just one title.

The other is to prevent confusion: World is too similar to Worldwide.

Universal's organiser, Ms Daisy Morgan, took part in the Mrs category of Worldwide last year. She said she decided to organise this alternative pageant because of her 'frustration' with the beauty contest scene.

She also said that different pageants with similar names was not unusual.

She wondered if it was even wrong to have a beauty pageant without an international affiliate.

'Some people just want to experience what it is like,' she said.

She claimed that some people had been spreading rumours that Universal was a 'scam'.

Two of her contestants, students Barathi Panneselvam, 21, and Fauziah Abdul Aziz, 20, said they had received online messages alleging Universal was a sham.

Miss Barathi also said she received nasty phone calls even after she had made Universal's semi-finals.

When told about the allegations, Ms Sashi said that they would not resort to such actions.

'There were girls who approached us after they found out they were in the 'wrong' competition,' she said.

But she said she told them to stay put as she knows how difficult it is when a contestant drops out.

Then there's the organiser of Miss Indian International, which has been quiet so far - and for good reason.

Speaking to us on condition of anonymity, the organiser said someone had called the company she works for to ask if it allowed its employees to organise beauty pageants.

She said her company has since queried her about the project.

'I don't know who is doing all this.

'We expected to get some problems but not to the extent of affecting each other personally. It's going too far - it's really hitting below the belt,' she said ruefully.

All she wanted was to give girls here more choice in taking part in beauty contests, she said, adding that this was just a hobby for her.

The lack of available contestants (and the confusion) meant she had to spend long hours calling people she knew to fill the spots for the final next February.

All 14 finalists are her personal friends, she said.

But because of the queries directed at her company, she said she would have to hand the reins to someone else.

Does anyone have anything nice to say at all?

Yes, but from an outsider.

Miss Colleen Francisca Pereira, 25, a New Paper New Face runner-up and Miss Singapore World 2006, observed that 'it's nice to see so many pageants popping up'.

It's a recognition of Indian beauties, she said, adding that once something becomes popular, it's inevitable that others will follow suit.

And it may not be all that confusing.

'Those who are really into pageants will know how different one is from the other,' she said.