Theres a lot more to these five debutants at WIFW SS 14 than just a pretty face, they are intelligent, insightful and yes, some of them are doctors and are not just obsessed with killer heels, they do love to read and want to be more than just dazzling It girls!
She is five feet ten inches tall, is the daughter of celebrated theatre artist Bubbles Sabharwal, but there is a lot more to Sheriyah, who is debuting at WIFW SS 14, than just her famous last name or model body.
A sociology major from New York University, she never thought about making it big in the glam world, and neither was theatre on the horizon, all she wanted to do was join her dads business. But on the insistence of Sushma Puri she took the plunge. What really excites me now, after two years in this business, is films, and thankfully I have great parents who encourage me to do what I want. Ive done a bit of TV commercials, but the focus remains acting and bagging a good offer for a movie. And I am not looking at compartmentalizing my choices into mainstream or commercial cinema, I am open to everything, she smiles.
Besides a fit body and her mothers winning smile, Shreyiah also feels that the perception about models is quite incorrect despite digitalization and the advent of social media. We are considered dumb and that we dont eat, are only thinking about looking good, these are all stereotypes, actually if you see modeling, it is not easy at all. You wake up at 6 am for a shoot; report for work at 7.00 am and work through the day till8.00 pm. Its a full day. So it is just not about glamour, a lot of hard work goes into making us who we are, she confides.
Interestingly, the archlights of modeling attracts girls wanting a piece of the glam pie, even though they come from diverse backgrounds.
Jyot Priya, 25, is from the non-descript town of Bhiwani, Haryana. And no, she isnt your star struck small town girl, she is a certified dentist, who graduated with honours from Punjab University and belongs to a family of, well, distinguished doctors. I had a deal with my dad, I can become a model, once I complete my dentistry. Coming from a place where most people are uneducated, it was tough, but I was firm, this is what I wanted to do. Modelling is a creative field, a lot of people fail to see it that way. I dont ever want to get back to dentistry, I dont have a Plan B, I want to make Plan A work, she laughs.
If Jyot Priya is a doctor, Pallavi Singh, who is also making her debut at WIFW SS 14, this year, comes from a family of reputed orthopedic surgeons in Bengaluru. Her mom still thinks, Pallavi will one day come back to studying medicine when she realizes her modelling decision was wrong, after all, she was an ace science student in school, till she decided to go to fashion college and was discovered and trained by Prasad Bidappa. I dont think you need to be just tall and good looking to be a supermodel, what you need is also to understand the clothes, the designers philosophy and possess a sense of self-confidence to be able to convincingly carry of the ensembles, she says.
And yes, Pallavi loves reading, her fave author remains Eckhart Tolle, and the book she is currently obsessed with is the best selling The Power of Now. It was a gift from a friend, I love books and spiritual ones are like a dose of positive energy when you are having a difficult day, she says.
If books are Pallavis treasured temptations, basketball is Shashi Bangaris most favoured indulgence. As she gears up to walk the ramp, she admits, it has been a long journey from her hometown Dehradun to Delhi. She won the Asian Supermodel contest and went to China to compete, where she secured the fifth position at the age of 18. Currently, finishing her graduation through correspondence, she grew up idolising Laxmi Rana, who is also from Dehradun, wanting to follow in her footsteps. I was a national level basketball player, and I must confess growing up in Dehradun, one has no clue about the mechanisms of the big city, but when I came here I had to learn, she adds.
Much like Shashi, Aditi Mishra, a Delhi girl is also an ace basketball player, who won a prestigious sports scholarship to study in the US, due to her refined game and sense of timing, but now she is excited about getting chosen to walk the ramp. I was also in the top 20 at MS India 2011. I won the title of Ms. Congeniality, and thats where my journey began. My mom also modeled in college so she is my biggest supporter and my dad is my morning jogging buddy. They are both very proud of me, she admits.
Modelling was the obvious choice for Aditi after Hans Raj College, but what makes her unique, she says, is the will to learn, adapt and grasp the finer nuances of the glitzy world and above all to remain grounded despite the attention, she concludes.