Journey from ramp to TV

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Model- turned-anchor Parvesh Rana

Curvaceous Joey Matthew is aping Nigella Lawson on her show Love Bites with Joey. Indrani Dasgupta, the face of Lakme, along with fellow host Sugandha Garg, is going all around India de-coding Indian men on the show What’s with Indian Men.

And it was not long ago that model Aditya Bal was seen showing his culinary skills on Chakh-le-India. Model Hrishant Goswami, after his stint in the Big Boss’ house, solved some love muddles on Love Kiya Toh Darna Kya as a host.
Though the likes of Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra, Nargis Fakhri and more recently, Diana Penty, may have decided to try their hand in Bollywood, many other ramp regulars are making the transition to television show anchors.
Indrani Dasgupta feels the formula of turning a model into a host works, as models are familiar with the tricks of the trade. “Being a model does help a little bit, like one understands the unearthly call times, the long schedules, and one is not as out-of-sorts in front of a motion camera, especially from all the TV commercials and music videos one has done. Having said that, it is a totally different ball game than modelling and requires its own unique skill sets.’’
Admitting that many models are indeed taking up hosting assignments, model-turned-TV host Pravesh Rana, famous for hosting Chak Dhoom Dhoom, Emotional Atyachar and Love Lockup apart from many other shows, says that models can become hosts only if they have the talent. “Hosting requires one to be more polished and skilled. It is not easy to host a show even if you are a model. Modelling requires a minimum height and physical statistics, but hosting requires something more than that. As hosts, we are expected to be well aware and learned. What a host says is more important than his/her looks.”
Reiterating the point, Rana insists that modelling does not help in becoming an anchor. “Modelling and hosting are two different professions. I had hosted 800 live events before I made a foray into television. I was always modelling side by side. And I can say that there is nothing in common between both the jobs. Maybe it is easy to pick up hosts from a modelling background as they have beautiful faces, but this is not the sole criterion. Looks are secondary, knowing the art and hosting drill is more important,” he says.
Talking about her experience on television, Indrani says that a hosting job comes with its own perks. “I did 12 episodes of What’s with Indian Men and received my fair share of TV offers post the show. But I limited myself to do this particular show because I loved everything about it, the concept, the team at the channel, the production house, and my co-host Sugandha who is an absolute star. Plus, it offered me the opportunity to travel to different cities in India, which I usually wouldn’t go to on modelling work. On the other hand, I still consider modelling my mainline profession,” she concludes.