Help when they teeter off the ramp

The likes of Geetanjali Nagpal and Renu Rathi may soon have help at hand.
The Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) is planning to start a model rehab programme. Though still at a premature stage, the initiative will aim at rehabilitating and providing financial support to models who are out of work.
According to Sunil Sethi, president, FDCI, the idea has been discussed and in April after the Fashion Week, the concept will be shared with various models for their take on the issue.���It���s like a CSR program and as an organisation we want to assist the model fraternity and are keen on doing something like this,��� says Sunil.
FDCI board member and Delhi-based designer Rina Dhaka also has said, ���Fashion gives recognition to models but they cannot enjoy the same kind of high life constantly, which is why they take drugs and get into depression. We���ve thrown open the idea of facilitating model rehab. Now it���s up to model associations to take things forward.���
Last month, Renu Rathi, a 21-year-old model and aspiring actress, was found lying outside her rented apartment without food or water. Her landlord had thrown her out as she was taking drugs. Earlier, Geetanjali Nagpal, a former model, was found begging on the streets of Delhi. Both instances turned the spotlight on models falling from grace and their inability to cope with changed circumstances.
Fashion photographer Waseem Khan agrees that models need a support system, especially when they are no longer hot on the circuit. ���Most of these models are kids when they enter the industry and are often obsessed with getting famous and making money, unaware of what they���re getting into. That���s why they get into depression and many take to alcoholism and drugs,��� says Waseem. ���My close friend Nafisa Joseph committed suicide when she was at the peak of her career. The programme should also provide counselling and psychological assistance to models who need it. Modelling agencies must take responsibility for these models and look beyond just business,��� he adds.
In Fashion, actress Kangna Ranaut played a Geetanjali-like character, who dies in the end due to drug abuse. Ask Madhur Bhandarkar, the film���s director, about model rehab and he says, ���Models have a short shelf-life in terms of looks and even assignments; every season there are new faces. We have rehab for so many other people who need it, so why not for models?��� he asks.
Designer Manoviraj Khosla, also a FDCI board member, however feels it will be difficult to sort out the genuine cases. ���There are models who do need this kind of support, but then one has to consider factors like how many shows the model has done, whether he or she is an aspiring model and who really requires financial help. All this will take a lot of time,��� says Manoviraj.
Fashion choreographer Marc Robinson feels that though it���s a welcome gesture, models in India have not reached the level where they need rehab. Model Sonalika Sahay, though, thinks it���s time to pay attention to the modelling world, but doesn���t want to comment without knowing how the programme will benefit the models. ���There are enough opportunities in this industry and the FDCI should help new and aspiring models,��� she says.