J A L A N D H A R Every Friday

Model lives
What are models made of? Good looks, hard work, sparse food, exercise and, of course, an attitude. Gayatri Rajwade meets the charmed ones.
Pirouetting, pouting, draped in scarves, shawls and snug T-shirts to keep the chill at bay, these ladies are the Indian ramps scorchers’— sashaying their ways into style manuals with their elfin looks and petite frames. These young women, sans makeup, looked scrubbed and fresh, young and eager, as they discussed their style mantra and fitness regime.

Aana dobara
Dharam Pal
AFTER coming out with albums like Aika Dajiba, Meri Madhubala and Dil Se Maratha Hai, lyrist, composer and singer Avadhoot Gupte is back with yet another Hindi pop album “Aana Dobara”.

Model lives

What are models made of? Good looks, hard work, sparse food, exercise and, of course, an attitude. Gayatri Rajwade meets the charmed ones.

Pirouetting, pouting, draped in scarves, shawls and snug T-shirts to keep the chill at bay, these ladies are the Indian ramps scorchers’— sashaying their ways into style manuals with their elfin looks
and petite frames. These young women, sans makeup, looked scrubbed and fresh, young and eager, smart and spiffy, as they discussed their style mantra and fitness regime.

Moi Cherie

Right from catwalk stalwarts like Nethra Raghuraman to young buds like Krishna Somani, they appeared bright as cherries, ready to walk the walk, posing for the clicking cameras with élan.

Veteran of sorts, Nethra Raghuraman made waves when she won the Femina Look of the Year title in 1997 which incidentally she applied for as a lark! However, having dabbled with films (Bhopal Express, Inteqaam—The Perfect Game, Kafan—now titled Forgotten Showers and she does not know why!), Nethra believes “films is not my cup of tea”.

Modelling for her is “mainstay”. 6 or 7 years ago the idea of jumping onto a plane and travelling around seemed great but now living out of a suitcase is tiring. The strange thing is it is a Catch-22 situation; if you do not have it you miss it.”

So what is her style mantra? “Trends come and go. However what is important is to wear what is comfortable and looks good on you today. I say today because you should change not only to suit yourself physically but mentally too. That is important.”

Colour black

For gorgeous Nina Manuel, fashion shows are not tough. “It is exciting, part of the job, like working anywhere else. In fact we have it much easier than other jobs so really cannot complain!”

This lovely model first noticed in the San Miguel ad as the alluring waitress believes fashion cannot be defined and is “something comfortable but not necessarily expensive.” What then are the three ‘must-haves’ in a wardrobe? “A nice black dress, white shirt and a nice fitting pair of blue jeans,” she smiles.

And how does she keep her figure a perfect 10? “I do not follow a diet but I work out as regularly as I can,” she maintains, her words, of course, belying her well-toned body.

Apple a day

Doe-eyed beauty Monikangana Dutta, munching into an apple, also does not believe in dieting but eating right and exercising twice a week when she can.” Winning the Miss North East Contest in 2001 while still at school did not however launch her onto the ramp. Armed with bachelor’s degree from Jesus and Mary College in Political Science in Delhi, she took part in the Metropolitan Top Model Contest in 2003 and her career soared.

This dusky beauty who has had modelling stints in Paris is gunning for the big ones in New York now. “I am moving to Mumbai after the 15th of this month and will then go on to Paris. I have had some feelers in New York too which I am still working on.” 
For lissom and light-eyed Krishna Somani, home is Delhi and nowhere else. She cannot even think of leaving it! For this lovely girl, fashion is a statement that complements a person and the best part of modelling has been the travelling and the new interactions at every place.

Kuala Lampur particularly holds fond memories for her. For Krishna is it the ramp and nothing else right now. No television and certainly no films for that would mean leaving Delhi! “Also, most Bollywood actors are not as tall as I am so no films!” she laughs.

Her fitness mantra is eating more and working out! She certainly does not look the part with a body built like an athlete!

With neat frames and funky attitudes these ladies have all that it takles to touch the skies above!

Aana dobara
Dharam Pal

AFTER coming out with albums like Aika Dajiba, Meri Madhubala and Dil Se Maratha Hai, lyrist, composer and singer Avadhoot Gupte is back with yet another Hindi pop album “Aana Dobara”. The album has nine melodious and peppy songs, eight of which have been composed by Avadhoot himself. Seven songs in the album have also been penned by him. It is an expression of a few special moments from his career.

Avadhoot, a product of Sagarika Music’s talent search wing is a multifaceted talent. He struck platinum with album “Aika Dajiba”, his debut album as a music director. This album was composed by him and five of the eight songs were also penned by him, who started his career as a sound recordist a couple of years back.

Avadhoot’s career as a sound recordist came to an early end when his compositions started their getting due recognition. In his initial years Avadhoot Gupte composed numerous jingles, titles for television serials and background music for films, until Sagarika Music recognised his talent. He started his career as a music director in 2002 when he composed a Marathi album on the theme of rain.

He shot into limelight with the album and received Alpha Gaurav Puraskar for the best composer 2002. His second album was an Indi-pop album ‘Aika Dajiba’. It was a landmark album in the field of Indian pop music. This album started the trend of Hindi pop songs with a Marathi punch line. The album was followed by another hit album “Meri Madhubala” in which he was launched as a pop singer. Avadhoot also writes lyrics. Aika Dajiba, Meri Madhubala, Halu Halu Chal, Koi Ho, Kabhi Gehre Samundar, Dil Pardesan and Piya Lage Na Jiya are his favourite lyrics.