"ticket to Bollywood" For Modellers

Walking the ramp is emerging as the hottest stepping stone to fulfilling ‘Bollywood dreams’ for the new generation models.

Some time back good looks, a godfather and a crash course in acting were considered the sure shot “tickets to Bollywood.” But times have changed; off-late another trend has joined the list of pre-requisites for joining the Bollywood bandwagon.

Though the trend is not sudden, but sans any doubts, over the time it has transformed into a major catalyst to make youngsters take the acting way. Now don’t let your imaginary horses take wild leaps we are not talking about the ‘casting couch phenomenon’ but the ‘ramp rage’!

‘Models turning into actors’ is not a new trend. Right from yester years’ Juhi Chawla to today’s Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Indian audience has been a witness to many such trials of fates. Some faired well, some acted to save their life while many came and went with a dud! But still, the connection between ramp and Bollywood has grown stronger over the years.

So, what makes ‘Tinselville’ the place to be for every lady or lad who has walked the ramp even once or modelled even for a ‘blink and miss’ brand? Is the act of posing pretty in designer attires losing its charm? Or is the glamour and popularity quotient of Bollywood taking over the catwalk?

“Entering Bollywood was a kind of professional advancement for me, a step to explore newer horizons rather than sticking to the monotony of ramp. The change was completely guarded with an aim to grow,” says actress Tanushree Dutta, who has also been former Miss India 2004.

But does that mean ramp jeopardises the growth avenues? “No, but it’s a matter of individual choice. We have models who have been appreciated and well accepted for their work to an extent that even marriage and kids couldn’t stop them and even they love every bit of it. I wanted to get the feel of performing arts from a wider angle after doing ramp shows and TV commercials” elaborates Tanushree.

For Miss India Earth 2005, Niharika Singh, a shift to Bollywood after doing commercial modelling for a considerable period was quite a rational transition.

“I’ve always been a commercial model. Walking on the ramp was just a part of my package after winning the crown and not something that I was cut for. I don’t have that skinny figure and tall height required to rule the ramp, so my commercial face makes acting as the obvious next career move for me,” states the model who is all set to make her debut with a movie titled ‘Love Sshtory’ opposite Himesh Reshammiya.

When juxtaposed against Bollywood, does a model’s race on the ramp hits the finishing line faster than the career span of an actor?

Milind Soman who opted out of modelling to make a career in acting almost a decade ago disagrees, “Any career is short lived if you want to quit. There’s nothing like ‘short-lived’ for a model’s career. I’ve known models who have spent quite a considerable number of successful years in the industry and still don’t want to quit modelling for acting.”

Supports model Ramneek Pantal, who has been gracing the ramp for eleven years, “For me these years have been full of hard work, appreciation and contentment. I have enjoyed every bit of my work. If you actually take up modelling as a serious career it is not short-lived at all.”

“Each time you walk the ramp, you add into your exposure, which in turn adds into your experience. If your work is good no one can turn you away; work will keep coming back to you irrespective of the span you have been here for.”

Gauhar Khan, former Miss India, also thinks on the same lines. The pretty lass who ventured into anchoring and is also taking acting classes at Anupam Kher School of acting elaborates, “A top notch model in our country can enjoy a successful innings of anything between 12-14 years, which is quite an impressive figure to stick to any career for that matter. Though I am open to anchoring, acting in movies and theatre, but still I love modelling.”

So, what is it about Bollywood that magnetise the models? Explains Sushma Puri, Director, CEO Elite Model Management, “It’s not just about doing a movie, actually everything becomes big once a model gets the tag of an actor, right from adulation, fame to endorsements and big pay packets.”

Adds Milind Soman, “Saying that Bollywood attracts only models will be wrong. Ask any young lad today and you’ll find he would love to be an actor… right from a business tycoon’s son to a politician’s son to an actor’s son. It’s not about models considering their career as a stepping stone in this industry but the enticing glitz and glamour of Bollywood that casts its magic on the youngsters.”

‘Has the ramp lost its charm?’ is the next probable question that hits the mind. A look at the current modelling scene of the country and you’ll know that the ‘super model era’ is almost a thing of the past and what rules the ramp are faces with Bollywood dreams in their eyes.

The attrition rate in the fashion industry seems to be soaring high … why? Former Miss India Meher Bhasin, who is still untouched by the Bollywood mania answers, “Today, a model is not promoted the way she was a few years ago. There was a time when a show was next to impossible without a Meher Jessia or Rajlaxmi walking the ramp, which is not the case today.”

Sushma Puri further exemplifies, “With a sudden rise in the number of beautiful people entering the modelling industry, it is very tough to tag one face as the supermodel. Every girl is equally beautiful and full of potential to carve a place for her, without being labeled as ‘Supermodel’”

“The options available to a model outside the industry like anchoring, choreography and of course acting seems pretty lucrative to try. Moreover, when audiences themselves are searching for an actor in a model’s face then what’s wrong in exploring the periphery?” adds Meher, who is herself adept in compering and choreographing shows abroad.

With ad campaigns and catwalks for big designers falling into the kitty of film stars while models shaking booty in typically Bollywood item numbers, the LOC separating the ramp from Bollywood seems to be fading with day. What was once the prerogative of the former is getting latter’s attention in a big way.

“Filmstars have taken over our periphery as country’s biggest brands prefer having them as their ambassadors instead of models, thanks to their wider reach and popularity quotient. In the same vein what’s wrong if models look up to the film industry to widen horizons,” asks Meher.

In the light of the fact that fashion industry and Bollywood have always acted as support systems for each other, flow of talent between the two realms comes to fore as a natural phenomenon. “It’s all about following your heart and harnessing the opportunity that comes your way,” says Sushma Puri.

She further adds, “The kind of actors that we have today are far different from what we had 20 years ago. Our models are the closest to the parameters laid down by the Bollywood biggies in terms of fitness, faces, diction, talent and most importantly attitude, which I think the youth is brimming with today. In short, the raw material that we give to the film industry is polished and groomed in the right way to make them almost ready to step into the shoes of an actor.”

The fact remains that modelling is not just a career any more, but a direct bridge to hit the tinsel town! What’s required is to strike the right pose at the right time.

If you have that little extra spark in you to showcase your looks and talent together with the clothes that you walk with on the ramp…there’s no stopping for you to become the next Priyanka Chopra, John Abrahim, Dino Morea or for that matter Aishwarya Rai Bachchan or the latest supermodel turned actress Deepika Padukone.