The Bad Side of Brawn

Fashion choreographer Kaushik Ghosh turns director with a film on the challenges faced by male models

He’s known to speak his mind,be it while choreographing models on the ramp or addressing pre-fashion show meets. But it seems Kaushik Ghosh,a Delhi-based fashion choreographer,is looking for a wider audience. Ghosh claims to be scripting and directing a film on the Indian fashion industry from the point of view of a male model. “I have been living and breathing fashion for nearly 16 years now and know the intricacies of the industry,” says Ghosh,who feels there’s a story to be told,specially the one that showcases the ‘challenges’ faced by male models. “It’s not easy for a newcomer to find a foothold in the male modelling industry and I have seen enough catfights back stage,ego clashes and it can all be very ugly,” says Ghosh,who has had the story in his head for a while and has begun to put the plot together recently. “Although it’s premature to talk about the project,I can tell you that it won’t be an all-out negative story,” asserts the fashion choreographer,who feels the need to take up direction was a natural progression. “Bollywood was always the next stop,” he says.

On a serious note,Kaushik admits that brawn has an uglier,lesser-seen side. “Unlike before,now there is a lot of work for male models through shows and endorsements. The competition is fierce and there’s a lot of professional jealousy,” says Ghosh,whose film will also touch upon cases of male models moonlighting as gigolos. “I have noticed how some models come and achieve success and then suddenly fade away. There are many stories waiting to be told,” says Ghosh,perhaps also wanting to create a shock value through his announcements. As far as casting goes,the choreographer is tight-lipped. “The main protagonist will be a fresh face. I don’t want to cast someone well-known as the story is of a newcomer male model and his struggles,” says Ghosh,who admires films by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Basu Chatterjee. “Real cinema has so much more to say. After this film on fashion,I will direct a middle-class love story,” he says. But before that he’s getting the models to walk for a show in Kathmandu,which will be held on the sidelines of the Indo-Nepal Friendship Week starting August 12. “Then I am off to Canada for the Indo-Canadian fashion week,” says Ghosh.