Fashion Forward

“That’s the only way to go,’’ says Raut,who was the star of just-concluded Khatron Ke Khiladi Torchaar with Akshay Kumar. She is also the anchor of a travel show Exotica and is now doing music videos and dance numbers,apart from regular ramp shows and print and TV advertisements.

She agrees that it’s tough to strike a balance,but believes that in order to be in business,there is no other way for them than to be multi-faceted and get used to muti-tasking. “Besides all that,I am also playing mom to my four-year-old son,a role that’s really special,’’ she says.

Then there is Megha,for whom modelling is the only way of not being typecast in an image — that of being actor Maushami Chatterjee’s daughter. She says she always wanted to create her own identity. Like her mom,her smile reaches the corners of her eyes as she chats with spontaneity: “I never get tired of hearing that.’’ While acting is in her genes,she says that modeling is in her veins. “It breaks the tag,because on the ramp,I am not anyone’s daughter but just a good model,” she says,as she also talks about her roles in a film based on Mumbai blasts,and in the Bengali film Balika Vadhu,where she and her mother have played sisters.

“We had parallel roles and I was really nervous,but it was a unique experience,’’ says Chatterjee,who is also paying a tribute to Praveen Babi in an item song in the upcoming film Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron. “The idea is to break stereotypes,be innovative,creative and confident,” she adds.

The INIFD Designer Medley 2011 slated for Wednesday evening at the Tagore Theatre will see all these top models strut designer outfits to showcase the creative and innovative efforts of 85 budding designers of INIFD.

Shamita Singh,another participating model,says,“I consciously and passionately create ways to support what I believe in. I am looking forward to flaunt the designs of young INIFD students. In fact,it’s my way of encouraging young designers.” She reaffirms her support for “causes” as she goes on to talk about her popular campaign for PETA,where she posed in the nude on a bed of red chillies.

Certainly,all of them are breaking stereotypes — much beyond the flash bulbs and runways.