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!!!!

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.

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