Two finalists strike a pose. Picture by Pabitra Das

It is 8.30, Sunday morning. Forty-six hopefuls between 16 and 22 years line up outside the banquet hall at Hotel Hindusthan International, dressed up and ready to shine.… A passion for fashion and the ramp is what spurred these young men and women to sign up for the Unish Kuri Streax Glam Hunt 07, in association with Spykar, and had them all pumped up for the Sunday morning preliminaries.

From more than 3,000 entries, the list was narrowed down to 46, which was further reduced to just 10 (five girls and five guys) who will walk the ramp at the grand finale on September 21 at HHI. The winners (one guy and one girl) will win modelling contracts from Streax Hygienic Research Institute and also the chance to be featured on the cover of Unish Kuri. Said Paulami Sengupta, editor Unish Kuri: “Last year we had some success stories. This year too we hope this hunt is a platform for aspirants to excel.”

If energy was anything to go by, success should be certain. “The enthusiasm level was definitely very high,” smiled designer Dev, one of the judges for the day. Many contestants were accompanied by parents patiently waiting outside the venue.

“I love the way young girls are dainty and elegant on the ramp,” said Rina Saha, mother of 20-year-old Sayani Saha. “I want my daughter to excel as a model and support her dream of taking up modelling as a career.”

Expert eye

The judges entrusted with the task of selecting the finalists were designers Dev and Nil, photographer Debashish Mitra, actress Monami Ghosh and Sananda Tilottama 2006 winner and model Madhabilata Mitra. The experts were looking for “workable contestants”.

“We are looking for potential,” explained Nil. “The face-recall value, the scope for improvement and the confidence,” he added. For Dev, it was “smartness, but not overdoing it, intelligence and the conviction” that clinched it. Madhabilata was looking out for future ramp and print models. “For the ramp, I kept in mind the height and the figure. For print, it was an overall appeal and focus on face.”

For those who did not make it to the final 10, the judges’ advice: develop your personal style; read books and magazines; start afresh and make sure you give it a shot next time.

Final 10

All the contestants had a chance to walk the ramp and chat with the judges. Women mainly stuck to black tees and dresses, while men went for figure-hugging uppers, with biceps bulging to perfection. Most chose to speak about their passion for modelling, with Milind Soman a role model for quite a few. Contestants had to field questions like whether they would choose education over modelling.

Subhadra Mukherjee, Jayeeta Ghosh, Souravie Ghimiray, Mousumi Ghosh, Priyanka Vijay, Rabindra Kumar Singh, Shashank Arora, Shrey Sharma, Ronak Baheti and Rohan Jha emerged as the top 10 who will proceed to the finals.

Mousumi was “ecstatic”. The 21-year-old B.Com student “in love with food” promised “to stay away from anything that would add extra kilos” and improve her expressions in front of the mirror. Shrey, just out of school, was confident of making it to this level. “I am very happy. I am looking at modelling as a profession and want to give it my best. Apart from taking the grooming lessons seriously, I plan to get enough sleep to make it the perfect combination of hard work and rest,” smiled the 18-year-old.

The grooming sessions began on September 3, being led by model Shonal Rawat. The contestants will attend workshops on beauty, catwalk, photography, etiquette and wardrobe management. Knowledge partner Horizon Aviation Academy will handle etiquette lessons; Be-Bonnie will take care of styling and makeover. Hospitality partner Spring Club will provide gym facilities.