From botox, to other forms of plasticsurgery, to anorexia and bulimia, the things that young ladies of the world gothrough to become models border on self-inflicted torture. However, sometimes,that’s not all that is required to make the cut. Sometimes, less is more.Sometimes, the need of the hour is to go back to basics. In keeping with thesame, Achla Sachdev transferred her experience that spans two decades, to the16 contestants involved, over the short span of seven days. This included her personalexperiences in the industry. “Sometimes, the secret to modelling is not about beingperfect. It’s important to have a quality that people can identify in a second.You have to be given a gift by nature, and what’s needed is to bring somethingnew. Somehow, everyone has that,” says Achla.
When asked about the future of the countryin terms of development of future talent, she responds almost slyly, that thedevelopment of ones attributes is what really makes each person special. Ifthis can be achieved, then the future could possibly most bright. “Everyone hassomething in them that just stands out, and they need to find a way tohighlight and accentuate that,” elaborates Sachdev. This is especially true onthe girls who sometimes may not be able to fulfil their dream of walking theramp. When asked about how best she counsels girls who do not always make thegrade, Sachdev says, “The most important question is ‘why’. Once that isestablished, if a girl does not have what it takes to become a runway model, Itry and highlight their positives in areas that they may excel, such as printmedia or television.”
Achla, who began her career in the world ofmodelling in the 1990s, believes that with the passage of time, trends havechanged. Asked about the trend of standout rarities on the ramp, and the dyingbreed of the supermodel that India once produced including Sheetal Mallar and Sachdevherself, she said, “It was easier back then. Girls didn’t throng to be models.The competition was less, and we were like a select club that knew aboutmake-up and how to accentuate our attributes. So we stood out.”
One can but hope that all the work that hasgone on behind the scenes with the Femina Style Diva and other projects she isinvolved with yields results, as there cannot be a brighter future for themodelling industry than a series of models that can emulate the divas of the1990s.
