Leno on the Kingfisher calendar

Ketholeno Kense speaks softly but you can sense the anticipation in her voice. Leno, to the modelling world, got herself a spot on the Kingfisher calendar for 2014, having won the fifth edition of Kingfisher Supermodels Hunt 2014 (aired on NDTV Good Times).

The 23-year-old from Nagaland is still in a daze; the whole experience is capsuled as an “amazing” memory. For the first time in her life, she got to travel outside India — to Boracay and Cebu in Philippines for the Kingfisher calendar — and meet fashion industry veterans. “I never thought in my entire life that I would be doing all this! I feel so blessed,” Leno tells t2 over the phone from Delhi, where she is now based.

Born and raised in Dimapur, Leno did not give modelling a serious thought from an early age, but the encouragement was always there. “I am quite a tall Naga girl… 5’9’’. My friends and people who are interested in the fashion industry would tell me to try modelling, but I never took it seriously. Even now, I am not too hard-core about it, but it’s nice,” she says. Leno wanted to graduate first. That done, she thought of giving modelling a shot and shifted to Delhi last July. “It has worked out really nice,” she laughs.

The eldest of six children, Leno has had to learn from scratch. “I had no idea about photo shoots. Now I am learning to be comfortable and I hope I get even more comfortable. I am still learning,” she says. What has been the most difficult part of the journey? “I still struggle to be confident. I am still new to this industry. So at times, I get insecure and nervous. I am doing so many things for the first time.... I was nervous about what I was going to do. Having crossed that period, I now feel that everything has happened for a reason.”

Did shooting for a swimsuit calendar need a lot of convincing back home? “There were issues,” admits Leno because she comes from a “conservative” background but she discussed it with her family. “They were cool about it. They told me as long as it is not vulgar and I know what I am doing is from the heart, they are okay with it. They are really happy for me.” She has a younger sister who has no plans to follow in her footsteps, “but she is happy for me”, Leno says.

Among her favourite designers is Atsu Sekhose, who also hails from Nagaland, but that’s not the only reason why Leno likes him. “He is very talented!”

Supermodel Indrani Dasgupta has been an inspiration. “I have always been inspired by how she looks and the way she walks,” says Leno, who also studied economics like Indrani. And there is the dream of walking in Indrani’s shoes some day. “It would be nice to be a top model,” Leno says. But she has other goals too, like a career in finance and management post-modelling. “I am hoping I will get a chance to do it,” she signs off.

Ketholeno Kense
Age: 23
Vital stats: 34-25-36
Height: 5’9”
Loves: Reading (for which she is not getting the time!).
Relationship status: “I am not answering that!”
Leno in her own words: “A simple girl who loves peace and quiet.”