Model Shonal Rawat strikes a pose in her home town, back for a fashion show with a new look from Mumbai. Picture by Pabitra Das

Tall, frail frame ensconced in short skirt and denim jacket with short brown hair enhancing her charm. Or in crushed blue pants with matching top, Shonal Rawat sure makes heads turn even if she is just walking by with no make-up on.

Back again in her home town for a fashion show, Shonal was sleepy but sporting. “I am always travelling and often to Calcutta for fashion shows,” says the busybody, now based in Mumbai where one can spot her scorching the ramp in most mega shows. “I decided to shift base a year ago having reached saturation point in Calcutta,” she adds.

The Calcutta girl was among the 100 odd newcomers who had auditioned for the Lakmé India Fashion Week last year and made it to the top panel of 10 to 15. “I got noticed in the show and work started flowing thick and fast ever since. It takes at least a year to reach your peak in this profession. You can’t dream of becoming a Jesse Randhawa within a few days,” stresses Shonal, feet — at the end of never-ending legs — firmly on the ground.

So far in Mumbai, it’s only been ramp and some ad films. But a music video by remix king Bally Sagoo is in the offing. “Bally Sagoo has made me dance to the Bindiya Chamkegi track,” laughs Shonal.

Shot in a day-and-a-half in Delhi, the number is “all about princesses and has a very ethnic look”.

Film offers have been pouring in for the past year or so (“touchwood”), but Shonal doesn’t want to rush on to the big screen. “I might start with a crossover film, maybe a year later, but I don’t want to be a one-film wonder. As of now, I need to get myself comfortable with a moving camera. This is what I realised while doing the music video,” admits this chemistry (hons) graduate from St Xavier’s College.