The music fades gradually. The lights dim. A blinding spotlight takes centre stage. The show begins in three... two... one...
The ramp fills up with six-feet-something, slender models, sashaying the space, maintaining the best pose and posture to impress the Elite Model Look (EML) jury judging their every move. Sitting in the centre is Nupur Tron, the owner of EML India, who has brought the model hunt to the country. It’s been a long, intensive journey for her, and she means business.
With the audition having concluded in Delhi on August 28, Nupur is all set to take the competition to Kolkata on September 6, Bangalore on September 12, and Mumbai on September 20. The national finals will be on October 10 in Mumbai. ‘‘EML is the biggest fashion property in the world for beginners in the modelling industry. Its aim is to provide a professional platform for them to become the next top model. It’s also by far the biggest model search, with its presence in 70 countries, with over 3,50,000 participants every year coming from 800 cities, 70 countries and five continents,’’ says Nupur, who seemed mighty impressed with the way the castings went off in the national capital.
She expected an exotic mix of beauty and brains and that’s what she got. ‘‘The contestants were up to the EML standards. They also displayed great photogenic appeal, along with personality and natural beauty,’’ says Nupur.
Scouting for the best talent in the world, EML has discovered famous faces like Gisele Boundchen, Fei Fei Sun, Cindy Crawford, and Stephanie Seymour, among other household names. ‘‘With that kind of reputation, you can expect an elite girl or boy to become the next super star, a commercial gem, an haute couture model or an atypical beauty,’’ she says, adding, ‘‘From 70 countries, 10 are chosen by the jury as winners and they sign a two-year contract with Elite, along with €50,000 as price money. Out of these 10 lucky ones, the winner gets a prize of €1,50,000, along with an excellent platform to make a fabulous career,’’ says Nupur, who believes the temptation is worth giving into.