Made For Modeling

All right, you know that you want to be there, but you don't know how.

Do you think a model is a sellout to multi-national businesses that use wily, globalized techniques of persuasion by employing "body beautiful"? Do you feel you are cattle for sale being prodded, when indifferent spectators talk of your vital statistics?
If your answer to either or all such questions is a resounding "nah", you are the model person for the cool catwalk! Yours is the catwalk down the chic road to glamour, fame, money and the so-called good things of life. And the fashion scene in the happening Hyderabad is rather active. In a city where a former Miss Universe was born, and a former Miss World and a current Miss Asia Pacific were brought up, modeling seems to be a career that appears rather upbeat.	Welcome to the world of glamour!
Says Y Malini Reddy, Asst. Professor at the Hyderabad NIFT, "Hyderabad is a pretty cosmopolitan city. A small section of Hyderabadi society is highly conservative. But, over all, lifestyles are changing real fast. People are ready to splurge on hep clothes and hi-fashion accessories. Moreover, there is lot of money in the city, given the high quotient of the AP NRIs." In other words, for up-and-coming models, Hyderabad is the right place to be. But how do you go about being a model? Says Imran Khan, a well-known choreographer and a famous model maker, "There are two major types of modeling assignments; still photography and the ramp walk. You can be a live wire model for a product on TV, too." If you model for a still shoot, your snap can get used in the ad frames of newspapers or magazines. And in the happening Hyderabad, there are ample opportunities for either type of modeling. Says Mahanoor Khan, a famous costume designer from Hyderabad and the wife and business partner of Imran Khan, "Trained models are much in demand for events that showcase garments, accessories and jewelry." In her opinion, moreover, the product fashion shows, pretty regular in Hyderabad, too, require models. What are the preparatory stages that lead to a spiraling career graph as a model? Remember that in the make believe world of modeling, beauty is skin deep. Reddy gives a model a five to seven active year career span, and maintains that a good model requires a glowing, healthy skin and regular features that are, in her opinion, a parental gift, which needs nurturing, nevertheless.
Most of it is in the bod... Mahanoor Khan maintains that height is another essential qualification. A girl has to be at least 5'6" and a guy 5'11", she explains. Reddy adds, "Hyderabad's male models, mostly Muslim, are coming up precisely because of this kind of physique." In fact, you require a real toned body if you want to be successful as a model. Says Reddy, "A daily workout in the gym or at aerobics is essential for girls, too. It is not enough to be thin; one has to have a proportionate body. Often, these so-called thin girls have a slight paunch and, hence, can not carry a dress well." So, in addition to a strict fitness regime, you need a proper diet schedule, too. That is the first step to modeldom - building up a body beautiful. But that does not mean you can start modeling the next minute onwards. Modeling, mind you, is a profession in its own right.
Mahanoor Khan finds it highly creative. To imbibe that right touch, an aspiring model needs "the right guidance", as Imran Khan says. He should know. Himself a student of a top London choreographer, he has been in the business since 1985. In 1997, in his Srinagar Colony house, Imran established a modeling academy called "Runway Academy" (tel: 374-1457). If you are amongst the lucky twenty who he takes under his wings for a forty-day long course in modeling (the charges are Rs. 4000), you are sure to learn all the tricks of the trade. The Academy has all that a future model requires. There is a stage, a forty feet long ramp in plywood, huge mirrors on all the sides, footlights - the works, in short. Here you learn how to walk on the ramp in style.
Says Khan, "A model walk on the ramp is real difficult. It is tough facing the arc lights and the audience. So you require poise and grace. Getting a proper catwalk on plywood requires practice. We provide, our chosen few students, such rigorous practice". Moreover, the services of a speech therapist, a beautician and a dance director are provided for a perfect fit.	Training for the ramp can take long
His advice to all the aspirants is to remember that the ramp show is for the apparel being advertised. Often, he feels, greenhorns use the ramp to attract attention to themselves. Imbibing the professional attitude is essential if you want to be a good model.
Once that happens, you are ready for the third stage. If you are interested in ramp modeling, you need to approach agencies. Imran Khan prepares his students for such assignments and future beauty contests as well. Otherwise, you can approach any of the agencies listed here. The best solution to your agency search could lie in approaching the GMT Dept. of the NIFT, which requires models for their annual show. Currently they tend to hire, informs Reddy, Bombay/Delhi models at exorbitant rates. So the local models are sure to a big hit if they measure up to the NIFT standards.	Training at Imran Khan's Runway
Your portfolio is sure to come in handy for such a quickie start. Says Imran Khan, "In Hyderabad, a day's work at shooting your portfolio costs you Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 5,000 " It cannot exceed Rs. 10,000, add these experts. In Reddy's opinion, it helps co-operating with your photographer. She feels the future model should strike a proper wavelength with the photographer who brings out her/his personal traits.
A good photograph can make you look real good - like Diya does here Advises Reddy further - insist on different, non-typical postures. The ingénue with a finger on her chin or cheek is too passé a pose in her opinion. Strike contemporary poses - that is her special tip. Moreover, you should be careful about the lighting used in a photo session. The kind of lighting a photographer uses can age your photo image. So, see to it that the lighting is soft in tone and texture. If your photograph, thus, shows your true colors, it helps in getting you a proper assignment that can show you off to real advantage. And, mind you, modeling is big moolah. Informs Reddy, top models in AP, such as Miss AP, charge Rs. 10,000 per show, plus a five-star stay and airfare. And, given the emerging fashion awareness in AP in general and in Hyderabad in particular, a good model with established credentials and a proven track record is sure to land good assignments with remarkable frequency, add the experts.
Imran Khan rattles off an impressive list of male models (the Nalgonda boy who made it big, Reggie Verghese, Maneck, Sameer, Niamath, Kareen, Rashad, Veejay, Jayadeep) and their female counterparts (Ritu Makheeja, Preeti Dubey, Gunjan, Kshipra, Ruby, Ipsa, Sonia) who are doing the Hyderabad modeling scene proud. Reddy adds up her favorites, which goes to prove that the Hyderabad modeling market is indeed alive and walking. Does an upcoming model require getting in touch with an event manager? Informs Imran Khan, his Runway Academy takes care of all such details for his proteges. And their ramp shows, mostly theme-based, are managed to the last detail, informs Mahanoor Khan. It is quite some work putting up a show, she feels. So an aspiring model should leave such details to an agency, though listed below you will find a few names of event managers - event management is in itself is a roaring business in Hyderabad. When you approach a modelling agency, you could not be too careful, though. Go to well-known names is Reddy's advice. Do not get carried away by the small time ads in dailies et al, she advises, because at times it could be a real dicey and shady business. A young girl should always approach any such tryst in the company of adults. In fact, parental acquiescence is the real advantage you can rely upon in this glamour world, she adds. So, all ye Cinderellas of Hyderabad, you'd better put forward your daintiest foot in the prettiest glass shoe. The princely show is waiting just around the corner to turn every dream of yours into a reality. Some Useful Tips: Meet Sunil Rupani, K S N Murthi and Sharfuddin Sher (when he is not away on his Dubai assignments) for a perfect portfolio. And Jatin, Rachana Utsav, Teamwork and Busybee, if you need the expert help of event mangers. Thus, goes the advice of the Khans. Reddy feels Salins Designs (tel: 332-1864), RK's Studio (tel: 331-3583, 332-3922) and Jiten can be your valuable sources in Hyderabad. Other major names are M/s Shalom Studios of the Zamistanpur area (tel: 762-8284), Paul's Academy of Fine Arts, Srinivasnagar Colony (tel: 713-4449) and Uma Srinivas at Ensembles, Banjara Hills.