Style & Substance

Fifteen years is a very long time in a model’s career. It’s even more commendable when you stay right on top of your league for more than a decade. On both counts,Jesse Randhawa is a winner. In fact,one look at the svelte model and her roster on the ramp,and you know Jesse’s still got a long way to go. “I am glad you feel that way,” one hears the soft-spoken and extremely down to earth Jesse put across. In the city to formally launch ‘Fashionista’,a fashion school in Manimajra,Randhawa looked her fashionable best dressed in slender jeans and boots to match. “I love coming to Chandigarh,be it for work or otherwise. I feel honoured that Fashionista chose me to be here for the launch,” pointed out Randhawa who recently tied the knot with India’s leading dance instructor to Bollywood stars,Sandip Soparkar. When they say a new bride glows,they must mean this for Randhawa looked radiant on an otherwise dull,grey day. “Nothing’s changed after marriage…just my residence,” she smiles to say.

For the unaware,Soparkar and Randhawa met at the former’s dance studio when Jesse signed up for classes in Salsa. Along the way she found love! “I love Salsa too,” she pouts and goes on to joke,“I think I will continue to dance forever,even when I am old,frail and have a walking stick in my hand.”

Interestingly,this last month saw Randhawa grace the ramp for the first Chandigarh Fashion Week. Quiz her on whether she thinks the city’s ready for it and Jesse defends,“Why not? Chandigarhians are in step with everything else so why should fashion be far behind. The Chandigarh Fashion Week arrived just in time.” For a model who has been a muse for many an ace designer,Jesse has a word of advice for aspirants both in modelling and in the fashion industry. “Those who are original have made a mark like Wendell (Rodricks),Rohit Bal,Satya Paul…” lists out Jesse who is no hurry to hang up her boots. In fact,her first Bollywood outing in Anurag Kashyap’s critically-acclaimed film ‘Gulaal’ got her a nomination at this year’s Screen Awards. “That’s when I felt that I might have done something right,” shares Randhawa who is looking for more “substantial” work in Bollywood. “It’s not important whether the role is lengthy or not…it should hold the story and make an impression,” she asserts. Watch out for her!