Conceptwise, Arvin's TalentManagement Corporation is the most dynamic. A veteran of many campaigns (including the Cadbury cricket ad), 18 months ago, Tucker came out with a CD that had a database of over 300 models. Shots from various angles, vital stats, colour of eyes etc were listed with easy cross referencing. A hunt for the right face, hair, or teeth was made easy for the 500 agencies and film-makers the CDs were distributed to. This digital picture album cost the model Rs 1,500 per year. For that price, Arvin ensured that the directory would reach all the big names in the business. And get looked at the CD was sent gratis.

Then there is Mehr Jesia's Face One. India's first super model, she slipped off her stilettos before the "Don't-call-me, I'll-call-you" started. "I got out before I stopped getting work," she says. And then opened Face One, nearly two years ago India' first modelling agency, run along the lines of those in Europe and America. Mehr says she was immediately flooded with applications but sifted through eachone with a stern eye. "I am very frank with those who I don't think can make it," she says. After a model has been signed on, she puts them through intensive training. "We know everything, even if there is a scar on the girl's leg," says the grand dame of Indian modelling. Such microscopic knowledge is essential to ensure a model's snug fit into an ad brief who's got good hair, who has got good legs et al.

But this industry is not model business. For instance, Arvin's bank balance does not reflect the appreciation his CD has received. "It is like bringing a bulb where people are used to candles," he says. On an average, five per cent of an ad budget is marked out for the model's fees. Of this, his company charges 10 per cent, making the profit margin very thin. But he is determined to see the phase through. "Right now we have sourced models for some 30 ads on air, over the country. My aim is to do 300 films every year out of the 700 or so that are made," he says.

Mehr's problem, though of a differentkind, are just as hard. Ever so often, models whisper in an agency's ear that they are willing to work for less, if Face One's share is cut out of the deal. The fall out with Bipasha Basu over her contract made headlines and while Mehr will not talk about it, she is not happy with the way the business currently functions. "Abroad, if a girl falls out with an agency, no other agency will even touch her," she says, a trifle bitterly. But such a situation, she acknowledges, is far away. Right now, she is planning to start handling careers of ramp models. And Face One has just worked out an arrangement with Rhea Pillai and Arjun Rampal, who is family anyway.

Namrata Barua's contribution then looks like a pithy post script to all heavy rewriting being done by Arvin and Mehr. She is writing a book on the ins and outs of modelling world. But this model is quick to put her work in perspective, "It is not a book exactly, more like a guide which students use during exams." This booklet is going to be a practicalguide for new comers. Due in October, this year, it will be a sort of food guide where model co-ordinators and photographers will be recommended, or vice versa. "I am not going to write off anybody, just say, `Be a little careful with this person'," she says. "Many newcomers would come to me and ask for advice. I just decided to write it all down, once and for all." Probably photocopied, instead of printed, her rating's guide will cost around Rs 500. "I am yet to write the last page where I am going to say that keep your head on your shoulders and don't get carried away in this make-believe world. The rest will come to them from experience," says Namrata.