Fortune's Face/Rasna Behl

Rasna Behl was the glamour industry in the late '60s. A highly successful ramp model, she became a household name after the Anne French press ads. And in the late Sixties and early Seventies, she was among the country's top rated models. But after the birth of her first child, Rohit, she began to give modelling a pass and concentrated instead on her job as an advertising accounts executive. It was here that Rasna came across her favourite face. "The face I will always remember from then is Kabir Bedi's." By then Kabir was the head of films at O&M and was well established as a theatre actor. "He was never just a model, but I do remember his Wills campaign. His face stayed with you. He was so dashing and had such presence. Even today he has tremendous presence."

Glamour roped in Rasna again and after she quit advertising, Rasna went on to do PR and then became a freelancer in the media business. What that meant is that she used to organise shoots for glamour magazines and press ads. And soon, she became thecity's leading model co-ordinator giving Mumbai its top models. For example, Rasna is responsible for giving Milind Soman his first big break. "James Ferreira, the designer, brought him to me and I helped him get cast in the Thackersay Fabrics campaign. Milind was such a shy boy then." Not so any more but Rasna feels that Milind is still the best looking face in the business. "There really is no new face that appeals. Even among the girls the faces that stick out are not the new discoveries." Her vote goes to: Aishwarya Rai, Lisa Ray and Malaika Arora. "They are so much more than just pretty faces -- they have presence and personality too."

-- SUJATA ASSOMULL

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