Casting Coups

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Sumana Ghosh, easy-on-the eye, and head booker at Elite Modelling Agency, one of India 's top modelling agencies, is known for her discerning taste and impeccable choice, particularly when it comes to work. Since 2003, Ghosh has been picking up the right faces — for ad campaigns, ramp shows, television commercials, and even films.In an industry, where being seen by the right people is directly proportional to your success, the bookers or the model managers are the ones who launch the careers of the models. The hopefuls come to them impossibly young, in low rise jeans and stilettos, often with bad make-up but with enough ambition to boot. Chaperoned by the bookers, they build their portfolio, make business contacts and shrug off their small town roots. "It is a strange job, but it's also a whole lot of hard work and brain-storming, but mostly, it's fun," remarks Ghosh, 29, breaking into a smile.In the past seven years, Ghosh, a former public relations official has been responsible for the success of many of the big names on the runways today. Model Tina Desai had practiced her walk in the Get Gorgeous contest before Ghosh clapped her eyes on her. "She didn't win the contest, but I knew she had the potential to make it big," says Ghosh, who plucked Desai out of Bengaluru into the heady world of fashion in Mumbai. Since then, the long-legged Desai with crimped hair has clocked about 95 commercials. She is also playing the lead in Zayed Khan starrer Sharafat Gayi Tel Lene . Supermodel Diana Penty was recommended by photographer Farrokh Chothia while Lisa Haydon came through a "friend of Sushma Puri" (Elite CEO). Penty, 25, is now rumoured to star opposite Ranbir Kapoor in an Imtiaz Ali film. She has also displaced her leggy counterpart Deepika Padukone to become the new face of Maybelline New York , joining the ranks of international supermodels Adriana Lima and Christy Turlington.It is the booker's job to find the right girl to embody a campaign's tagline or infuse character into the narrative of an editorial fashion story with the correct model. "It's our responsibility to slot the girls into roles, create a profile personality for them," says Ankit Mehta, director of the Mumbai-based Inega Model Management, who feels that the focus of his job is to "chart the person's career in the right direction". "We don't believe in grooming so much, as in helping the person find the right assignment," shares Mehta, whose top girls at the moment are Giselli Monteiro, the Brazilian model of Love Aaj Kal fame and Jyothsna Chakravarty. "Jyothsna is one of the only models we invested a lot of time in. She came to us with practically no experience, and we didn't take in any commercial work for her until we built a strong book for her. Today she's sought after by agencies in Europe, Italy and US," says Mehta, 26, who joined Inega as a graphic designer, when he was 17 before moving up the ranks.Often, true to the axiom, the bookers do spot a model fifty paces away. Casting happens in busy malls, pubs, and even the local trains. What qualities do they look for in the model? "The right kind of attitude and poise. For the ramp, height counts a lot, while for a commercial, the model should be able to make a connect with the camera," says Ghosh, who handles Elite's Mumbai office.Shanti Sivaram, 29, one of the founders of the three-and-a-half year old Mumbai-based agency Bling, says it is all about giving the right input to the model. "We tell them to update their portfolios by joining acting classes, or a theatre workshop," says Sivaram, whose protégé Sahil Shroff is trained in martial arts. So far, Bling has around 30-35 clients, most of whom are inching towards Bollywood. One of Sivaram's daily chores is to ensure that her clients have enough assignments to boot. "I send regular updates to production houses and advertising agencies, including newer pictures," she says. The perseverance pays off. Angad Bedi, one of the top male models, hosted the reality show Emotional Atyachar on UTV Bindaas before moving on to be a presenter at Indian Premier League 3. Shroff, hot on the Indian runway, is contemplating films.Sometimes, the job of a booker could easily be supplanted with that of a chaperone. From handling conference calls, to ensuring good accommodation for outstation assignments, and consoling their protégé post a messy break-up, there's a lot of handholding involved. "It's important to know what's happening in your model's life. You feel responsible for them," remarks Sivaram. Sometimes, it also entails being strict with them. "We usually keep a tab on the girls, and watch their weight. If they put on excessive weight, we stop marketing them for a while," says Ghosh. Living a dream has its price.

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