The Hindu

• Dayanandasagar College of Engineering student Shwetha Reddy wins the "Face-the-Ramp" contest sponsored by CNN-IBN at the Wills Lifestyle Fashion Week.

Bangalore, Apr 17: She weighed 10 kg more once. But regular jogging and minding what she eats, combined with some exercising at home, as helped her keep in shape says model Shwetha, who tells K. Satyamurty that modelling is more than strutting in bizarre clothes.

She has modelled the creations of some of the top designers in the country. But her favourite outfit remains a casual tee-shirt and jeans, says Shwetha Reddy.

This 22-year old graduate from Dayanandasagar College of Engineering was the winner of the "Face-the-Ramp" contest sponsored by CNN-IBN at the Wills Lifestyle Fashion Week held recently in Delhi as she staved off competition from 160 other contestants. She did walk the ramp wearing the clothes created by designer Raghavendra Rathore.

What made her stand out in such a large crowd of aspiring young models? "You need enough self-confidence and poise to face the camera and the crowd. Your posture, the way you look at others and the way you emote expressions on your face to suit the occasion.. they all matter," says Shwetha.

This is not the first time that this young woman from Bangalore has won a contest. If you tune to Channel V, you will find her smiling. She was among the 15 young women short-listed at the "Get Gorgeous" model hunt on the channel and won the crown.

In the run-up, she was also selected Ms. Body Beautiful. The heartthrob of many teeny-boppers, Dino Morea was among the judges. How does she keep in shape? "Would you believe I weighed 10 kg more once? I was quite chubby then," laughs Shwetha. She jogs regularly and exercises for several hours a week at home, not at a gym.

"My half-hour jogging a day plus eating the right food helps. I don't diet as such but am careful about what I eat... I have a weakness for spicy Andhra food," she confesses. Her tryst with the world of fashion began almost two years ago, she says, but regular modelling began eight months ago. She has been the face behind several successful shows, including the one during the last Bangalore Habba.

Modelling as a career option is just picking up in Bangalore which does have grooming schools, some great photographers and people such as M.S. Sridhar, who train aspiring models. He was the man who groomed big names such as Lara Dutta and Nafeesa Joseph.

"The training starts with teaching you how to walk the ramp, how to look in front of a crowd and how to display the fashions to the best advantage.. you go through a whole lot of pictures from fashion magazines around the world and learn, step by step , how to look as good as the girls on the covers of those international journals," she says. Young models also learn how best to care for the hair and skin and to keep in shape.

It is not an easy job competing with top models, she admits. At the Fashion Week itself, things were too hectic and fashion designers, models and prospective buyers of the creations were all part of a large crowd.

The outlook of models from the larger metros is very different from those of Bangalore, she says.