SHARMISTHA CHAKRA: “Now I can even pose in a bikini on the road!”

Sharmistha Chakra, 23, realised her long-cherished dream by making it to the finals of the Hunt for the Kingfisher Calendar Girl 2010, the two-year-old reality show on NDTV Good Times. The winner will go on to feature in the Kingfisher Calendar, to be announced in the first week of January. A chat with the girl from Shantipur, Nadia, who has now made Calcutta’s Ganguly Bagan her home…

How did the hunt happen?

I auditioned from Delhi. I read about this hunt on the Net. It was my dream to be a part of the calendar, which has given birth to models like Deepika Padukone and Katrina Kaif.

How did modelling happen?

When I was in Class IX, I had participated in a Calcutta beauty pageant. I had come to Calcutta before that — I am a classical dancer, so I used to come to participate in various dance contests. No one from my family supported me. I brought my brother along with me. I remember I took a local train at 5am to reach Jamuna Banquets. When I reached the auditions, I was looking like something the cat dragged in! I was very shy then. I couldn’t answer as fast as the Calcutta girls, so I could not win it. I was second runner-up. I promised myself then that I just had to do it.

Fiona Thomas

Lisa haydon with atul

Liza golden

What did you do next?

I went back to Shantipur and completed my graduation. After that I decided to shift to Calcutta. It required some persuasion back home. I started work as a reporter for a website called Tollyworld Entertainment in 2007-08. I used to interview celebrities and often had to wait long hours. Prochondo raag hoto! I wanted to be in their place!

When did you come back to modelling?

It’s been a year that I have started modelling again. I have shot for Lakme Fashion Week among other assignments.

What was your first reaction when you made it to the top 15 of the Kingfisher hunt?

It was unbelievable! I think they selected me because I have good height, a good face, good skin and a good body. Atul Kasbekar was there at the auditions. It is my dream to be clicked by him. He asked me if I was ready to pose with the sharks like in last year’s calendar. He also told me to tone my body. So, the 15-day gap that I got between the auditions and the start of the hunt, I worked hard to get trimmer.

How challenging was the contest?

Very difficult! I was wondering whether it was a modelling competition or Fear Factor! I was shocked when they gave us crabs to pose with! It was a danger zone task.

What did you learn?

I had picked up catwalk tips from FTV and magazines so far. This contest helped me a lot in learning the right attitude. My confidence level has shot up tremendously. For Calcutta models, posing in a bikini is tough. Though I never had such inhibitions, I had doubts as to how to pose in one. Now I can even pose in a bikini on the road!

There was a round where we had to pose topless in chocolate! We were told to look classy and elegant. I have an innocent face, and that was a plus point.

What about Milind Soman?

He is so hot! He used to tell me, “You are very sweet and cute and I like you”. This meant a lot to me! There was a round where we had to do a bold Axe deodorant situation. Milind came and asked me what I had in mind. I said I needed a guy to show what I had practised. He was like, “Aamake ki thik lagchhe na? Tumi ki aamar shonge korte paro na?” So, I bit his ear real hard! It was a lot of fun.

Who is your biggest supporter?

My mother. When I had come to Calcutta to model, a lot of people had told me that I did not have it in me. Now, when I have participated in Kingfisher, they are going gaga over me!

Atul Kasbekar on Sharmistha...

“She has the body for it and a sweet face. The only thing that she needs to work on is more of an attitude, the way she carries herself. She’s done well. She has some level of experience in front of the camera, which is always helpful. She has a very commercial face, in the genre of a Rani Mukerji: more cute than beautiful.”

....and on the calendar

We shot the calendar in Mauritius. It was a bit of homecoming so to speak. The inaugural edition was also in Mauritius. We stayed away from the places we had shot previously. We did lots of shots with wild animals. The pictures we did at Casela Nature & Leisure Park were really special. They were difficult shots to do in terms of the danger quotient, and those are always exciting when you manage to do it well without getting anybody killed!

The winner of the hunt will see the birth of a big star. This time the calendar has names like Anjali Lavania, Charlotte Lohmann, Liza Golden, Lisa Haydon and Fiona Thomas.