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Catwalk Queens?

I was with a friend the other day; she was feeling pretty low, seems her job's getting to her. A slump, she says. We're going through a slump. No money, no future. Hang in there, I say, it happens to the best. That's just the problem, she says, it's happening only to the best.

She's a model. An old-timer - she's been all over the world, done tons of shows and made heaps of money. But don't envy her. Today, she's looking for alternatives. And the options are kinda slim. And time's running out.

Funny, isn't it? After all, there seems to be so much happening in the modelling industry. Ford, Elite, Femina, Gladrags, Miss World hosted in Bangalore for the first time. India's moved from the back benches to the top five in international competitions, Sush and Ash even brought home the crown. We're making waves on the European catwalk circuit. And fashion schools are springing up like toadstools all over the city, teaching you to walk, talk, basically do your thing.

So, what's the panic? Why fly the coop when the going's good? Groupie syndrome, maybe? Mehr's (Jesia) got Face 1, Colleen's (Khan) got Chikaba, Noyna's (Noyonika Chatterjee) got Celebe, Alison's got her Black Book. Madhu (Sapre), Namrata (Shirodkar), Sushmita (Sen), Aishwarya (Rai), Pooja (Batra), Suman (Ranganathan), blah, blah, blah, have their trees and their songs and their sequences in the rain. And the rest, well.....

The rest had better keep their eyes open, she says. Marriage, maybe? She wrinkles her nose. Not a good enough reason. So what if fashion extravaganzas have become passé, sponsors aren't pumping in any money, designers prefer in-house dos, choreographers are using old friends and new discoveries (favours for the former, the latter come cheaper). Still, not a good enough reason.

So, is the scene really that bleak? Are seasoned models off the ramp and in the streets?

Designer-choreographer Hemant Trivedi says new talent definitely has an edge. "People are saturated seeing the older lot. Bitchy critics often comment on the 'same, jaded faces', and I tend to feel the same. I believe fresher talent is easier on the eyes and, since I'm training this year's Miss India lot, I've seen a lot of earnest, new faces."

Trivedi's extremely keen on using new talent. "I'm one of the first guys to replace old faces. Recently, I did a show in Bangalore where I used 10 new male models and, although they were absolute novices, it went off beautifully."

Does that explain why the older lot is diversifying into other

Hemant Trivedi

fields? He's not sure. "I think it's more of a natural progression, not entirely dependent on the model's preference. The decision is both ways - she may be tired with the profession and/or the choreographer and audience may be saturated by her. This profession involves the face and the body and, considering how overexposed some of the models are on the ramp and in print, boredom from all sides comes as no surprise."

Apart from the overkill, Trivedi feels that established models are far from perfect. "Older girls are experienced, which is what makes them great to work with. But, so far, we haven't touched the attitude and professionalism that goes into making a supermodel. I'd have no qualms about paying their price if they're willing to deliver. But they complain about fittings, rehearsals; often friendship becomes a problem, they take you for granted."

New girls, on the other hand, work at quarter of the price. "So what if they're unknown? So were many of today's prima donnas. They started as unknowns, they were nobodies too. How many people knew Sheetal Malhar when she was modelling with her tight, curly hair?"

Choreographer Rasna Behl agrees with him on that point. "It takes at least two to three years to establish yourself as a face, it doesn't happen overnight. Noyonika Chatterjee has been here 10 years, Milind Soman for eight; it took them a lot of time to create a niche for themselves."

She, however, doesn't feel as confident about the newer lot. "Despite all the training programs, no one's really been successful this year. I think there's something missing in this newer lot, they just can't project themselves." But she also believes that, though "you have to break your head working with them, some of them pick up very fast."

Behl recalls working with Meher Bhasin and Aishwarya Rai when they started out. "Modelling is an inborn talent, you have to blossom on stage. Take Tahiya Narvel, for example. She walked in and said she wanted to model. She really worked on herself, skin treatment, nose job, the works. Two shows, and she was full of confidence."

"A new star is born all the time. Unfortunately, in last year's lot, we haven't had a sensation. Why? Well, it's a hyped profession, lots of easy money - everyone wants to be a model. Yet, we seem to attract a mediocre lot."