Nina Manuel Sexy dusky beauty a successful TV host for past 4 years & of focus India’s Super Model who’s staring incessantly at you from Fashion shows, Magazine covers, Ad’s, billboards and Zee aft hrs show. The Supermodel of India with the ‘Hottest Body & Killer legs’ scorching Runways across the globe.

From her debut show for “Ensemble”, Nina has been the darling of designers like Tarun Tahiliani, Shahab Durazi and Rajesh Pratap Singh. Rohit Bal chose Nina to open and close his Fashion Show in Delhi, even though she was a new face at the time. She has done ramp shows for designers like Neeta Lulla, Maheka Mirpuri Suneet Varma, J. J. Vallaya, Raghavendra Rathod, Tarun Tahiliani, Rohit Baand Manish Malhotra, Sabyasachi Mukherjee and Ravi Bajaj.

You have been one of the hottest faces in the fashion modelling circuit,how did your journey begin ?

I took part in the Look of the Year contest for which I didnt win nor place and…..then…..after that my modelling career took off ,and one show got me my next…… literally!!!

The Indian modelling scene has been more welcoming to fair skin and light eyed, what were the challenged you faced?

Honestly when it came to ramp modelling my dark skin was very appreciated….. I didnt face any problems at all as a matter of fact the designers loved the dark skin so it worked to my advantage. It was only for ads, where it was a problem, so after awhile i just stopped going for screentests cos i knew they were on the look out for a fair model and I didnt see the point in going. But it didnt seem to bother me as my modelling career was doing real well..

From a successful model to a TV presenter, how did the transition take place?

I was a VJ with Channel V for two years while I was modelling but I wasnt ready to give TV my full 100 percent so I quit … and so I went back to modelling and then I sudenly I got offered this TV job by Zee….for which I didnt have to audition ….and I just said yes….and here I am!!! Lubna Adam was with Zee and still is… so I saw her shooting something at the Fashion Week… and thats when I said to her that I would be interested and the next thing i know is Mr Pradeep Guha has called me for a meeting and I got the job!!!!

What’s it like to be a host of that most popular of all shows, After Hours?

My job is super…. I can’t complain… I get paid to party… how hard can that be….

Who are your favorite designers? Will we be seeing you on the ramp this season?.

I have many favourite designers.. I like Arjun Saluja , Gaurav Gupta, Savio Jon,Tarun Tahiliani, Rohit Bal,Manish Arora,Rajesh Pratap Sabyasachi Mukherjee…. its an endless list …
I am planning to take part in the Delhi Fashion Week…so am quite looking forward to that….. as for other fashion shows…. I’m quite choosy about them…..

Tell us your beauty “mantra”?

My beauty mantra…. is exercise regularly….. sleep well….. eat right…. moisturise your face day and night….. aviod wearing makeup whem not shooting….. and always think postive……it shows on your face!!!

Any plans for the silver screen?

I have no plans for the silver screen… never had any intentions either…. but would be open to doing an item number and I feel that 2009 could be my lucky year… lets see!!!!

Your advice to aspiring models?

My advice would be keep your head on your shoulders…. dont let the fame get to your head…. always keep thinking ahead of what next…..beleive in doing quality work…..dont take your job for granted……and never get involved in other peoples gossip….. just do your job and go home…..and never compare yourself to anyone else…. thats what i beleived… there is only one NINA MANUEL!!!!

Tell me how did your journey begin in modeling?

Took part in Miss India in 1994 and then from there modeling took off. Actually the desire to be a model is what made me join the Miss India contest in the first place.

The fact that you have been ruling the modeling industry for the last decade, what do you feel about your decision to become a model (smiles)?

Yes (smile) it’s been fun.

Tell us about the changes that you have seen in the modeling industry from when you started to now, also about the fashion designers that you have worked with?

When I first started, there were not too many shows, not too much of work for us. Now this business is flourishing. Earlier there were not as many models as there are now, this has increased competition, which is good because it pushes everyone up, as we reach the international levels in modeling. Basically the top designers, for the last decade, have been pretty much the same. The new crop is good too, but I don’t see them exceeding the high standards set by Rohit Bal, JJ Valaya and Shahab Durazi. In the current crop I like designers like Manish Arora, who has been very distinct in his style, like Wendell Rodricks, who has his own style, again very distinct. So yes, there have been the new crop that has come out in full force, but as far as the basic structure of Indian design, which has been set forth by Rohit, JJ and Shahab, those have still to be exceeded.
The other thing with the designers is that now they have come to accept my short hair. When I first started there was nobody else who had short hair, so the designers were unaccustomed to that, but now there is an acceptance among the designers. They had this concept of the typical Indian woman, with long hair, light eyes, fair complexioned. Dark skinned or tanned models were not that acceptable, back when I started, but now things have gradually changed. This included my own acceptance as a popular model, now as I see it, everybody wants to work with me.

From Jasmeet Kaur Randhawa to Jesse….?

I’m still Jasmeet Kaur Randhawa (smiles) and still request people to call me by my full name, but from the beginning people have been shortening my name, so I guess I’m ok with that.

Many models from your time have switched to television or films, what about you?

Because of my body structure, that is my height (5 ft 11 inches) and my short hair, the practical truth is that I might not fit into the film and television world of India…

So you think you would not fit into the mould of conventional roles?

That’s right, and they don’t as of now, make too many unconventional roles…..

But you have done a couple of films?

Yes, but those directors have been bold in every aspect. There are others who, even if they want to cast me, are at a loss on what types of roles to write for me. Some suggested that I wear a wig, with longer hair, but I absolutely am against doing that. This does not have as much as trying to hold on to my identity, but more because I don’t believe in doing roles, merely to fulfill the conventional mindset, of which a lot of the female character roles are written. I did do a film called CHOT, by Nabhkumar Raju. I was kind of surprised that he approached me for the role, of basically enacting journalist Barkha Dutt. But he believed that my look was just what he wanted for the role. His confidence in me, convinced me to do the movie. Second one was GULAAL and Anurag Kashyap approached me for the role, I told him I don’t want to do movies. He asked me to just come and read the script once and then if you don’t want to do the movie that is fine. This was even before CHOT, Anurag had approached me first. When I heard the narration, I thought this role was very interesting and not the usual running around trees, which would not suit my personality, so I decided to do it. Actually, that was a similar criteria for my role selection in CHOT. Then I have done some songs here and there. I did a song in NO SMOKING, which again required a different kind of look.
I play a college lecturer in GULAAL, which is all about Rajasthan college politics. It is going to be my next release, about time it came out, has been in the works for too long now. I enjoyed essaying that role and wish for similar kind of roles from our filmmakers.

Interviewer: So anyone looking for a tall girl, with short hair and having stunning, beautiful and expressive eyes, should call up Jesse Randhawa at ……..

Unlike a lot of your contemporaries, you have chosen dancing as your calling and that too Ballroom Dancing. How and why?

I never knew dancing would come my way so easily. I have been modeling for a while and suddenly wanted to do something different in my life. The chance came when Sandeep Soparkar approached me for a film, because Pooja Bhatt wanted me for a film called Holiday, but that did not fit in well since my height was again an issue. I was to be cast opposite Dino. So I was not given the role, Kashmira Shah eventually did it, but then Sandeep approached me for a show after that and I rehearsed and the show was paying me well, so I thought why not. But during the dance sessions, I realized that this is a lot of fun and this was within me. Till then I was only dancing for rave parties and I had not really thought that I could dance, but I had a rhythm in my body and I could really dance. Then I enrolled in Sandeep’s classes and gradually he gave me more shows and I was enjoying it more and that is how it came to be. I discovered myself as a dancer. Also I had not seen too much of Ballroom dancing in India. This dance form is more Latin American and Western. It was something different for me. Not something you see in Bollywood or on Indian Television. I like Rumba, Salsa, and Viennese Waltz.

What does the future hold?

I think I need to discover my inner self a little more, to think about where I intend to spend my time in the future

Tell us something about Jesse Randhawa that the world does not know? What else is there to the persona, other than the ramp, the glamour and the dance?

I see myself as a little too honest in today’s world and am a simple human being. Oh and my voice does not go with my personality (smiles). I am given to understand that the words snooty, snobbish and reserved are often associated with me, but for the people who really know me, I often times hear positive comments like, "we never expected you to be how you really are, as opposed to the persona that is perceived."

A little about how your journey started in the world of modelling and perhaps also onto films and television?

Modelling started for me when i started getting many requests while in college at St Xaviers in mumbai.So i began by posing for the cover of apopular weekly at the college festival, then i began walking the ramp for lubna adams, and when i met then photographer boman irani, who is a well celebrated actor today, he convinced me to start posing for the camera… television started when i returned from my two year stint in the Uk . in 1999 star tv was looking for a couple to host a show for them…so Lisa Ray and i teamed up to present Starbiz, the only programme in english to be regionally produced at the time.
Around that time i met a genius ad film maker called shamin desai he invited me to make an independent film with him- essentially about me andthe turmoil of a character slowly decaying! depressing but the most liberating experience of my life. my stint with bollywood began three years later, when bobby deol nominated me for the role of villain in tango charlie.

You have dabbled in all three worlds, films, television and modelling? What are the pros and cons of each, which is that you’ve enjoyed most?

As much as i enjoyed modelling, one must move on to other expressions. i would not be averse to earning from endorsements but i really am so settled in my role as actor… as lead antagonist! television come close, and all in all, i enjoy being in front of the camera.

Being South Asian in Hollywood is a distinct disadvantage, cause South Asians don’t look like the majority of the US population and this affects their chances of being cast in lead roles (although that is gradually changing). Has being Bhutanese and not looking like the average
Indian (whatever that means) ever come in your way, while modelling or in television or films? If so, how have you managed to overcome those odds?

Yes, i was at a serious disadvantage when i first started…. so i chose a liberal avenue to excel in ( fashion), and after having made a name for myself there, i was better received in the commercial world of media. it certainly took me three times the amount of time anyone else took.

Talk to us about some upcoming projects, in films, in television, in theater and in fashion?

I am also filming i telugu. two films coming november and jan.With television i am trying to get a project together with my friend Bill Cusack in L A…… where i will host a tv show about Bhutan and the east for the American market. Fashion is a distant past suddenly…all i have is style now!

The one advantage that you do have over the average Indian actor, is that you can easily pass of in western films and television. How open would you be to taking on non Indian, films and television?

Very open! being so picky in a narrow market has really seen me doing so little…so my agent is so frustrated with me!!!!!! she has stuck by me for years.

What has been your experience in non – Indian fashion shows,as a South Asian model? Are there adequate opportunities?

Yes internationally its better…but one needs a lot of other factors to come together.

What do you aspire to be doing 3 to 5 years from now? What other areas of the creative and fashion world, excite you?

Frankly, i would like to be more international- i really am trying a path out into Hollywood and the far east, as an actor.

Picture Gallery

“The Bay Area has often been rightly accused of being fashion “unconscious,” unlike the counterparts in LA or NY. That perception is about to change. On Friday, September 5, 2008, Indian American fashion designer, Shekhar Rahate, displayed his fine collections, at the India
Community Center. The evening was also the crowning night for the Miss India Northern California contest, that was won by Richa Shukla.

Designer Shekhar displayed his Fall 2008/2009 collection. “I like bright colors..I go to the fabric stores and buy fabrics which appeal to me and then I visualize the outfits and draw them…I always like to experiment with something different but wearable…my collection is
western but I like to have some Indian touches like embroideries, cuts. For this show I have presented around 60 evening /party and wedding gowns. Each distinct. I use sworowski crystals…outfits look more stunning when you use them than just the regular stones or
beads.”


Shekhar’s collections have the hallmark of an up and coming designer, whose creations have a distincitve, yet wearable mark to them. Shekhar is based in the Bay Area, although his collections and shows travel across the North America.”
Watch the gallery