Models make their mark

Two more community youth have made a mark in the world of glitz and glamor, winning titles in prestigious nationwide contests. They are Freddy Darruwala, first runner-up Haywards Mr India and Kaiomurz Chindhy, who clinched the same position in the Gladrags Manhunt this year.

Darruwala, a 24-year-old electronics graduate and MBA from Surat, was among the finalists who sashayed down the ramp dressed in designer dhotis (traditional Indian men’s garments) at the Haywards Mr India 2007 contest in a suburban hotel in Bombay on March 7, 2007. He was also declared winner of the Mr Sexy Walk title.

When the top five were being chosen the tension was palpable, reported The Times of India of March 8, 2007. Posed with the question: "Which world leader do you admire the most and why?” Darruwala chose Mahatma Gandhi as his icon for the latter’s efforts to stop the Partition of India (and, therefore, the "partition of the world’s best cricket team”). This response helped him clinch the first runner-up title. Assam’s Kawaljit Anand, a Nelson Mandela fan and tsunami survivor, was crowned Mr India. Though not yet confirmed, Darru­wala may represent the country at an international pagent.

Born and brought up in Surat, Darruwala studied in St Xavier’s School, in the Gujarati medium throughout, a fact of which he is proud. He is glad that he was able to hold his own at the pageant and answer suitably and confidently in English. His father Kurush is a small scale businessman and mother Pratibha, a homemaker. Darruwala’s sister, Va-hishta, a commerce graduate, is married. Crediting his parents with giving him enough space since childhood to shape his future the way he wanted to, he graduated in electronics.

He dreamt of becoming a model but hailing from a small town, with restricted resources and lacking the right links, he enrolled to study for his MBA. Opportunity came knocking when Darruwala entered the Grasim Mr India 2005 contest and won the Mr Photogenic title. A greater gain was the friendship forged with Viraf Phiroze Patel, winner of the Grasim Mr India title that year. Patel was the first Zoroastrian to be selected Mr India. Darruwala returned to Surat to complete his MBA after which he moved to Bombay in April 2006.

Above: Freddy Darruwala on the cover of Men’s Health and modeling. Gladrags model Kaiomurz Chindhy (top and alongside, second from left) with Maureen Wadia (center) and other winners

"Meanwhile, I also came in touch with this great human being, Mickey Mehta, without whose support I don’t think I would have been able to make it so far,” Darruwala acknowledges. Mehta and Patel have been sources of inspiration in all his achievements. "I’ve been pursuing modeling as my mainstream career now and in future I aspire to be an actor. My parents are happy with whatever I’m doing and their blessings are always with me,” he says.

Having featured on the cover of the January 2007 issue of Men’s Health magazine, Darruwala has also appeared in television commercials for Hutch, the TVS Apache motorbike and others. With his appointment as brand ambassador for Nivea 5-in-1 Whitening Cream since the first week of May 2007, his modeling career seems to have taken off well.

"Legends are made”

Another model, 23-year-old Kaiomurz Chindhy of Poona, was crowned first runner-up in the Gladrags Manhunt 2007 at the Gladrags Mega Model and Manhunt Contest 2007 held in Bombay exactly a month later, on April 7. It was the conclusion of three months of hard work and planning by model maker Maureen Wadia and her team. This unique unisex contest, presented by Britannia, in association with Star One and the film location Star Cruise Libra at the Laksha-dweep islands, had 18 girls and 21 boys vying for the prestigious titles this year. According to Wadia, Chindhy is the first Parsi to have won a Gladrags title. Chindhy will now be sent abroad to participate in the Best Asian Model contest and Mr Tourism International.

The Gladrags contest has the reputation of being the place "where stars are born and model legends are made.” Previous winners and finalists of the Gladrags Manhunt Contest include John Abraham, Kelly Dorjee, Rajat Bedi, Chetan Hansraj, Amar Upadhya, Aseem Merchant, Dino Morea and Zulfi Syed.

Born and brought up in Poona, Chindhy moved to Bombay a few months ago to make his mark on the modeling scene. The son of Kersy and Amy Chindhy, Kaiomurz’s early education was at St Vincent’s and he subsequently graduated from the commerce stream, earning his BCom degree. His immediate family also includes younger sister Farahnush. The spirit of adventure led him, at the age of 19, to put in an eight-month stint with the Merchant Navy. Chindhy tasted success earlier too when he participated in and won the Citadel Mr Pune, the NIEM (National Institute of Event Management)’s Mr University India and the Westside Face of the Year titles in 2005. Eight days prior to the Mr Pune pageant, the youngster won two of the four subtitles — Mr Photogenic and Mr Versatile (see "A model success,” Parsiana, March 21, 2006). "Well, I am a person who doesn’t plan a lot for the future, but the short term goal for me would be to make the most of the title and opportunity given to me by Gladrags in the modeling industry,” the model confesses.

Confirming that he is the first Zoroastrian to win a title in the Gladrags contest, Chindhy says he is "very proud of being a Parsi. I do love the community. I find the Parsi community to be very simple, helpful, peaceful and organized… and I hope it always remains that way,” he signs off.