Jimmi Gupta in Ranchi on Tuesday. (Hardeep Singh)

Ranchi, May 5: What if he couldn’t make it to the top 10 of Gladrags Mega Model and Manhunt Contest, the world has opened up for him and there is no looking back for Jimmi Gupta.

The city lad, who shifted base to Pune about a year ago, is all set to make his mark in the modelling industry and he won’t stop there. Jimmi is also trying his luck in the small screen though his dream is to become a Bollywood actor.

Standing tall at six feet four inches, Jimmi said the Gladrags stint was a turning point in his life. Not that he has been flooded with offers after that, but the pageant has made him more confident. He now knows how to present himself before people, to make eye contact and is particular about his facial expressions.

He had qualified till the swimming costume round but was eliminated thereafter on the grounds of lean physique. “I made to the top 20 but as fate would have it I was eliminated as I had a lean frame. But will not stop me and I am all the more hungry to become an ace model and actor,” said Gupta, who is in the city.

Jimmi, whose hobbies are bike riding and music, said: “At the man hunt contest I was asked what I would like to eliminate from the country and my confident answer of poverty, corrupt leaders and bribery impressed Maureen mam. Mam even suggested that I should take up basketball as I have a good height.”

The former students of Vidhya Mandir, Lohardaga, stepped into the modelling arena after a course at International Institute of Creative Courses. He then walked the ramp for Big Bazaar, Bizarre, Swadeshi Mela and NIFT fashion shows. But after clinching the first runners-up trophy of Mr Jharkhand contest in2007, Jimmi thought of taking up modelling seriously.

After relocating to Pune, he did 18-day crash course on acting. “Now I have given audition for Balaji and an entertainment channel. I am waiting for a call from them,” he said.