She wooed the crowd at the Pantaloons Femina Miss India 2007 pageant and bagged the Miss Photogenic title. Life has taken a 360 degree turn for her since. “Though I didn’t make it to the top three, it marked the beginning of my career. I managed to get some really good offers after the pageant,” she says. The brand, Fair & Lovely, has signed her for their upcoming campaign, focusing on the power of woman. Designer JJ Valaya has her as the only face in his calendar with the theme – tribal, virgin and sexy. She’s also been on the cover of various fashion and lifestyle magazines. No wonder, Esha is being touted as the next big thing in the fashion world. Designers and photographers swear by her. “Her versatility will take her a long way. I’ve seen different images of her where she completely transforms into another character. She’s a perfect chameleon. I rate her quite high on attitude and sex appeal,” says Valaya. Photographers say she cuts a stunning demure figure in every shot. At the international pageant, fellow contenders called her the chocolate temptation. Esha has often been compared with the hot and gorgeous Hollywood beauty, Angelina Jolie. From make-up artist Mickey Contractor to model Sheetal Mallar, many have told her so. “It always delighted me but I wasn’t sure how true the compliment was until I met these Italian couples in Bhutan while on a fashion shoot. They began talking in their language that I look like AJ. I was floored.” At the risk of sounding arrogant, she says, “I have seen models auditioning for fashion weeks and getting rejected. But I was chosen in my first audition. I get a lot of projects but I take up 5-6 assignments every month. I prefer quality to quantity.” Despite getting the best of modeling assignments, the lady’s candid enough to admit that she never really wanted to do modeling. “I wanted to become a fashion photographer or a journalist since fashion inspires me and I love meeting people.” The lure of stardom is not for her, so she claims. “People contacted my agency with some movie offers but I rejected them. At present I want to concentrate on my modeling career,” she says. Ask her the advantage of being a model and she confesses, “I’ve realised that people look up to models. Even if you hit the town in the most hideous outfit, people will still notice you. And money surely is good in modelling.” The chocolate temptation Esha Gupta loves every bit of this attention.
Comments