Finalists of Vatika Honey & Saffron Soap Sananda Tilottama 2006 at their grooming session with Nayanika Chatterjee. Pictures by Pabitra Das

Catwalk ain’t a cakewalk, declares Nayanika Chatterjee. “So when people feel that modelling is only about fun and glamour, it irritates me no end,” adds the grooming expert.

In charge of grooming the 20 finalists of Vatika Honey & Saffron Soap Sananda Tilottama 2006, she sees to it that fun and glamour take a backseat when the day’s schedule reads “grooming session with Nayanika Chatterjee”.

A favourite with all the contestants, the girls latch on to every syllable that Nayanika utters and ape every move she makes.

They have a lot to do. Nayanika takes them through detailed lessons in choreography ? from “skirting” and “turning together” on the ramp to overall stage presence to finding the right beat of the music. And more.

The dusky beauty is trying her level best to raise the beauty bar with each passing day.

“Sometimes, they slacken and don’t deliver. So I gave them a mean dose the other day? The difference since then is unbelievable,” says Nayanika, looking pleased as punch.

The “dose” was very well timed. With just about four days to go for the crowning ceremony on May 27, Nayanika is not going to let complacency set in.

“The work is tougher, since there are many participants who are hardly exposed to the ramp. Many of them haven’t even watched full-fledged fashion shows, forget walking for one,” she says.

Nayanika is ready with her two-fold final plan. While the first one revolves around the ongoing pageant, the next is more modelling-oriented, touching the finer points of choreography.

The thrust is on walking the ramp. How to walk in an ethnic and a western garment, how to hold a pose ? or an expression. The curriculum is hectic.

“The expression is so important...While a regular show could do with normal expressions, a contest needs a girl to essentially be more smiley and warm,” points out the expert.

The girls are also touching up on make-up techniques with Nayanika and getting a lowdown on choreography.

“Our objective is to produce some of the best models? It doesn’t stop at the Tilottama crowning,” she stresses.

With wardrobe malfunctions still fresh in public memory (thanks to the Lakme Fashion Week series starting off with Carol Gracias’s blouse coming off on the Mumbai ramp), the girls have also received special advice on disaster management on the catwalk. Let’s hope they never need to use it though.

Words of wisdom

In the run-up to the final evening at the ITC Sonar Bangla Sheraton & Towers, Nayanika draws up a few dos and don’ts for the contestants:

• Never go on a crash diet ? anorexia is unhealthy.

• Combine food items right and don’t eliminate a food group entirely.

• Wear light lipsticks to look fresh. Darker hues on the lips tend to add a few years to your face.

• Learning how to walk with a book on your head really does help. It makes you hold your shoulders and head straight, thereby lending both balance and grace.

• Too much co-ordination is a big no-no. Mix and match cleverly to avoid looking like candy floss.

• When it comes to fashion and styling, when in doubt keep it simple. It always works.