She is fondly referred to as “The Body” in the fashion circles. This dusky supermodel has been in the industry for years now. Women envy her for her perfectly sculpted figure and men desire her for pretty much the same reason. Who doesn't remember the irresistible waitress in the San Miguel advertisement? You got it! We're talking about - Nina Manuel.
Born on 24th April in Mumbai, Nina Manuel was on her way to becoming a lawyer before she became every fashion designer's delight. She is often quoted as saying that she didn't have to struggle too much to get into the fashion industry. We asked her why, “When in college, I took part in this contest called 'Look of the Year'. Mehr Jesia spotted me there and liked the way
I walked on the ramp. So I got booked for my debut show which was for Ensemble.
Then Shahab Durazi saw me in Ensemble and then I got booked for Shahab Durazi's Show. Then Ensemble's Tarun Tahiliani booked me for a Tarun Tahiliani Show. That's how I got started.”
When Nina was still a new face in the fashion world, Rohit Bal chose her to open and close his Fashion Show in Delhi. This is the kind of style and grace she exudes. She has walked the ramp for designers like Shahab Durazi, Rajesh Pratap Singh, Neeta Lulla, Maheka Mirpuri, Suneet Varma, J. J. Vallaya, Raghavendra Rathod, Tarun Tahiliani, Manish Malhotra, Sabyasachi Mukherjee and Ravi Bajaj. Nina clearly proves wrong the statement that models have a very short shelf life. She has been scorching runways for over a decade now. “It's still going great for me. I am still doing work in fashion shows and I am also doing shows on TV. There is no formula to stay in the industry. If you are good in your job, you'll get the work. And the moment you start getting bored of it, then it's a sign for you to get out of it.”
Being on the ramp gives Nina an ultimate high, “It's like I'm there and nobody can touch me.” She loves everything about living a model's life. “Traveling to different places all over the world, staying in nice hotels, wearing fancy clothes and getting invited to celebrity parties. I love it all. On top of it, designers give you lovely gifts. It's even better when you are a TV show host.” Nina was a VJ for 2 years and has been hosting 3 television shows on the Zee Network. According to this gorgeous multi-faceted beauty, modeling opens the door to other opportunities that you can pursue in terms of your career. As a model she got to travel to some really amazing places and got to meet some really interesting people. But, being a television show host has added another dimension to her personality. “Right now I'm doing more television than
modeling. It's not that I prefer it; it's just that I'm enjoying TV right now. Because of my television shows, I've been exposed to the world of art and have started taking a keen interest in it. Probably,
as a model I wouldn't go to so many Art Shows.”
Because of the recent recession, she is unsure of where the industry would be going, “It depends how the market picks up. We have some great talented Indian designers, who are
doing very well on the global map. If the recession is lifted, then I'm sure the Indian Fashion Industry will go really far.” And what's her take on more and more youngsters taking up modeling as a career? “They shouldn't push themselves too hard and must give themselves a certain span of time. If it doesn't work out in the first one year, then may be they should leave and look for some other profession.”
From catwalks to advertisements; from music videos to Television shows, Nina has done it all except films. Bollywood must be feeling left out and deprived of a wonderful talent. “Bollywood has too many actors and actresses already. If something interesting comes my way, I'll look at it but it's not like I've made a conscious decision to go down that road and I haven't,” says Nina on her plans to act.
