Model In A Month

Come summer and those struck with the glamour of the modelling world enroll in workshops and personality development classes. “Exams are over and the May Queen Balls are almost here. Plus,there are many who are thinking of next year’s national pageants and want to be prepared,” says Ramtri,who set up The Tiara in 2007 but has been training models since 1997. A month’s course is usually all it takes for an aspiring model to be ready for a May Queen ball or other local-level pageants and fashion shows. For those with bigger aspirations,there are six-month courses. “The course gives an introduction to ramp-walk,communication skills,diction,Q/A sessions,pageant strategy,dressing style,make-up and practice shoots,” says Ramtri.

Sarika Verma,who trained with Shakun Sethi at his ‘Faces & Figures’ workshop,says,“After the one month course,I got good shows and even signed a modelling contract. One just needs a good teacher,and I found that in Shakun. After the course,my communication skills improved and I was no longer afraid of public speaking or meeting knew people.” Today,Verma is geared up to do a hairstyling course in the UK. “My career really took off after the workshop and new avenues opened up for me,” she adds. Sethi,who has been conducting his grooming workshops for a decade now,says,“I usually conduct the workshop in May and it is not only for aspiring models,but anyone who wants to enhance his/her personality. The course is basic,but detailed and focussed. After that one month,you can go out there and face the world.”

The participants are also helped with legal information,contract signing and payment information. “That is specifically for those who are very serious about the modelling profession. We help them get accustomed to media agencies and production houses,” adds Sethi,whose next batch with 20 students will begin in May.

The national pageant – ‘I Am She’ is what Khushboo Mendonca is training for. Ramtri’s student,Khushboo initially enrolled for a month’s course in January but got an extension for performing well. This Mumbai girl says,“We watch a lot of show videos,go through previous pageants to see what works and what doesn’t.” Dealing with competition is one area that Ramtri stresses on. “She always says that we have to compete with ourselves. We need to outdo ourselves. In class,she gives a tiara to the one who performs the best,so that motivates us to do well,” adds Khushboo,who has been chosen to walk the ramp for designer Aslam Khan at the upcoming Pune International Fashion Week.

Students from all over the country and even abroad come to Pune for these workshops. “That’s because pageant workshops abroad are very expensive. There,they charge 150 dollars for an hour’s consultation,whereas here,a one-month course is for Rs 20,000,” says Ramtri who has trained Sandeep Soparrkar,Gauhar Khan,Amrita Thapar,Neha Hinge and Pooja Chopra in the past. She even exempts the fee if someone can’t afford it.

Mechanical engineer Mandeep Grewal,who is training at The Tiara,is from Port Blair. “Today,I’m a different person. My dressing sense has improved; I can conduct myself better and am more confident,” he says,before mentioning his goal of the ‘Gladrags Manhunt’. As Sethi sums it up,“We simply help bring out people’s hidden talent and potential. And it doesn’t matter what professional background or place they come from.”