It rained men. That too in all sizes and shapes. The occasion was the Delhi leg of the male model auditions for Van Heusen India Mens Week 2010, where models cast in a wrestler’s mould or an inverted pyramid; tall and short; super-macho thronged The Grand hotel on Thursday.
The auditions were open for all new and aspiring models and the panel comprised designers Rohit Bal, Manoviraj Khosla, Varun Bahl, Rohit Gandhi, Anjana Bhargav, Nayanika Chatterjee, actors Mandira Bedi and Rahul Dev.
The auditions started at noon where around 115 participants sashayed down the ramp followed by several rounds to shortlist the most befitting models. Though most of the boys failed to create any stir on the ramp, Anjana Bhargav spoke in their defence and said, “It is an impromptu walk and most youngsters here are freshers, who deserve to be seen. We should not forget that they don’t have any prior experience of modelling. I am sure we can sift through and find at least five to six good models. We are looking for tall models, who have a stage presence and can walk as per the requirement.”
Rohit Gandhi seconds Anjana and said that it happens at all auditions and it is a challenge to select even a handful of good models. He said, “As the bad ones shadowed the good ones, one could not clearly see the spark. But once the selected models are separated, one will be able to notice the difference.”
Although the auditions aimed at finding fresh talent, some of the regular ramp faces like Tejan Yadav, Ashish Chaudhary, Deepak Wadhwa, Vinay Rana were also spotted in the melee. So what could be the reason that they had to audition with newcomers?
A model on the condition of anonymity revealed, “It is quite bizarre. I was not even intimated about the auditions. I came on my own. I had walked the ramp for many designers at WIFW, Lakme and Mens Week. Still I am not given any preference over freshers.”
Whereas Anurag Verma, general manager FDCI has a different tale to tell. He said that they didn’t call anybody for auditions. “We informed people through our contacts and via social networking sites about the auditions. And if a model comes for a trial we can’t say no to him. It is open to anyone. Also the jury wanted to screen everyone as they didn’t want to have any issues related to height or attitude. Moreover, our motive is to promote new talent that can infuse freshness into the event as well as the industry.”