Ash, Bips, Kat ... will Amrit be next ?

doweshowbellyad=0; Amrit MagheraMulti-faceted model Amrit Maghera, who is also a singer and actress, is now the new ‘face of Lakme’.
When you think of Indian fashion what comes to mind is beautiful embroidery, panel cuts, a vibrant colour palette and beautiful models sashaying down the ramp, of course. Call them eye candy or a designer’s ‘muse’, models such as Sheetal Mallar, Deepika Padukone, Nayonika Chatterjee, Neha Kapur, Krishna Somani, Amanpreet Wahi, Carol Gracias and many more have ruled the Indian ramps with their poise and beauty.
And then you have models such as Aishwarya Rai, Bipasha Basu, Yana Gupta, Shivani Kapur, Katrina Kaif, Raima Sen, Vipasha Agarwal and many others who have also had their successful stints on the ramps. All these models, most of whom have turned actresses, have been the ‘Face of Lakme’ and have walked the ramp at the Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) at the start of their career.
Joining the list of Lakme girls is model Amrit Maghera who has been named by the cosmetic giant as their new face. Lakme has also announced Manish Malhotra as the Fashion Week grand finale designer who will be showcasing the winter 2007 collection at LFW in October.
Coming back to the new Lakme girl, the talented Amrit the company feels, truly embodies the Free Spirited Woman – unrestrained and mysterious. The model, who is also an actress, singer and dancer, holds a first class degree in drama and dance. She has performed live on stage at London Astoria, Birmingham NEC, Wembley Arena, on television for MTV and with international artists such as Kayne West, Guns and Roses and Body Rockers. A surprise to this dance diva is her melodious voice and recent record deal with EMI. She has also modeled in London for brands such as Miss Sixty, Satya Paul, Skechers, Nokia, and others.
Over the years, it’s evident that Lakme models have benefited with opportunities to further their careers. From lucrative modeling contracts, national and international promotional campaigns to ramps shows these models have had it all. On its part, the cosmetic giant does rounds of various modeling agencies looking for new faces, which are then put through interviews and auditions before the final selection.
doweshowbellyad=0; Aishwarya Rai and Katrina KaifSuch must have been the story of Aishwarya Rai and Bipasha Basu, which Lakme brought to the fashion limelight. The beauty and elegance of these models-turned-actors have helped them reach the pinnacles of success – in India and globally.
Aishwarya, in fact, has been featured on the cover of numerous international magazines, including Time and has been acknowledged as the ‘global face of Bollywood’. Bipasha too has received her share of glory and was recently selected to host the Seven Wonders show in Lisbon.
Then there is Yana Gupta, the half-Czech lady who rocked Bollywood with her maiden number in the movie Dum.Even though she has not made a substantial mark like other tinsel towns beauties, the model is quite feisty on the ramp. The model was last seen walking the ramp for designer Gayatri Khanna at Lakme Fashion Week.
Katrina Kaif and Raima Sen, the two faces that are making their presence felt big time on the ramp, were also discovered by Lakme. While the ladies walked the ramp for designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee at LFW 2006-2007, they were again seen with designer Narendra Kumar at the first edition of LFW 2007-2008.
Katrina was chosen by the cosmetic giant after her Bollywood flick Boom bombed at the box office. Though the lady is quite busy with her modeling career she has yet to make a substantial mark in Hindi films. However, the actress has started getting applauds for her performances in films like Namaste London, Maine Pyar Kyon Kiya, and the upcoming Partner.
While Katrina’s Bollywood career graph has yet to stabilise, the same cannot be said for fellow actor Raima Sen. Though the Bong beauty has done mostly cameos in Bollywood – Antar Mahal, Honeymoon Travels, The Bong Connection, Parineeta - she has delivered some fine performances in Bengali cinema and the ramp as well.
The current face of Lakme, Vipasha Agarwal, has yet to find her roots in the world of glitz and glamour but the lady has managed to land some plum modeling assignments. Now, will the new face of Lakme - Amrit Maghera - make her mark on the runway or Bollywood or both? Will she carry forward the legacy of the former beauties? Or will she reach new heights of glory? Well, only time will tell.
monika.rawal@indiatimes.co.in