The 18-year-old dusky beauty, along with the other contestants, Gloria Tep and Rushali Rai, participated in the finale, judged by the show's mentors Lisa Haydon, Dabboo Ratnani, Anusha Dandekar and Neeraj Gaba.

“When I auditioned for the show, I had no idea that I would make it through to the first round of elimination, let alone winning the show. I am so happy and thrilled to have won 'India’s Next Top Model'.

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"I'm just a normal teenager who got to work with the biggest names in the industry at such a young age and also got to be mentored by Lisa Haydon, Neeraj Gaba, Anusha Dandekar and Dabboo Ratnani," Canute, who's in the second year of graduation, said in a statement.

Danielle Canute. Pic/IANS

Calling it an "unreal" experience, Canute added that it "is the biggest platform I could have got."

She won the title against the most confident models. As a winner, she has received a year's contract with talent management agency Bling! She also gets a chance to get a spread in a fashion magazine, and is now the online face for TRESemmé India for a year.

In the hunt to find India’s Next Top Model, the reality show, presented by MTV, commenced on July 19 with 13 new faces.

The success of the first season of the show, which is an Indian version of "America's Next Top Model", has given its makers a reason to cheer.

“We are very happy with the show’s success and the overwhelming response received during the first season of 'India's Next Top Model'.

"With the number of viewers that have accepted and enjoyed this season, we are confident that the franchise has a bright future in India," Akash Sharma, co-founder and executive producer, Bulldog Media and Entertainment, the exclusive rights holder and producer for the India franchise of "America's Next Top Model", said.