Small town Spirit

Part-glamourous,part saucy,it’s the lure of the good life that attracts the girls from inconsequential backgrounds to slug out in the Battle of the Bikinis contest on national television. The small-town-model-in making starts off with local beauty pageants and graduates to Gladrags,before moving on to music albums,print campaigns and even a stint down South. Some,like 19-year-old Poonam Pandey,like being known as the “New Internet Queen who replaces Sherlyn Chopra as the most downloaded model on internet”,while others,such as 24-year-old Lucknow girl Khusbhoo Gupta,a former Miss UP winner,are happy to play the sultry seductress in Bhojpuri movies.

Pandey,a self-proclaimed new “sex goddess” has clocked 27 calendars for the year 2011,charges Rs 40,000 for a day-long shoot and is quite “famous for bikini”. “I don’t care for anybody,I know who I am. The firangs don’t stay in India for long,they work for six months and leave. After Kingfisher contest,I have received lot of offers for movies but right now I am focusing more on modeling,” says the first year student of R.J. Thakur College of Arts & Commerce,Mumbai. Her parents,severe Brahmins,were stiff with the choice,but eventually accepted it. “It took a while,but they finally gave in,” says Pandey,who started modeling in August last year.

22-year-old Assamese girl Pallavi Das doesn’t crank out any platitudes about the runway enterprise,but at the same time manages to sound grounded and likeable. Her parents in Tezpur too have made peace with her choice. “At first,they were jittery. But I told them about the show,they watched a few episodes and are okay with it,” says the 5’7” model. Life hasn’t changed much post the Kingfisher stint,though she has signed up with Mumbai-based modeling agency Kwan. For the contest,where the “girls wore bikinis the whole time”,Das sweated out in the gym to stave off competition from the blonde brigade and the naturally good-looking half Indians,who now populate the calendar.

Kethose Nagi,a 23-year-old Naga girl,an unlikely contestant at the Kingfisher Calendar hunt,joined out of sheer curiosity. The 5’ 8” air hostess,briefly exchanged her red Kingfisher uniform for a black bikini to enter the world of pose and pout. Pretty soon,she discovered the hard work behind the glamour. “One has to wear make-up for hours,pose in a three feet by three feet acrylic box while appearing sexy; wear chocolate and strut in front of a car. Most of the times,the girls who are half Indians get more preference,” shares Nagi,as she gives a peek into the unvarnished world of modelling. “There is nothing vulgar about a bikini. I am quite comfortable wearing it,though I was nervous about posing in front of the camera,” she said. So far,she has been inundated with lingerie offers and automobile ads. “As of now,I am still giving it a thought,” said Nagi,adding that her Oriental looks are hardly an impediment. “I don’t know how I’ll look in ethnic wear on the ramp,but then it depends on how the designer styles it,” she laughs.

Angela Johnson,the 20-year-old Bengaluru-based winner,with dusky skin and black hair,snapped up the title as part Indian,part Icelandic. “I could have never asked for a better platform. It is lovely being part of this beautiful and classy calendar,” she gushes,admitting how she has almost no experience in modelling prior to this. Now though,life is totally on the fast track. Photographer Atul Kasbekar has snapped her up for his agency Bling,and Johnson is already looking at walking the ramp at the next Lakme Fashion Week,besides endorsing a haircare brand. What better way to kickstart your career?