Born to strut

The 23-year-old is one of the many hopefuls who thronged the auditions which took place at the Grand Hyatt on January 20. Many aspirants were turned away because they fell short of the required height. The leggy Fakih made the cut,until the first round,which saw her stumble a little as she walked the runway for the jury.

But she won’t let herself be discouraged. She’s come too long a way and fought too hard a fight to turn back now. Partly of Indian origin,Fakih comes from Saudi Arabia — not a place that’s known for its liberal attitude towards women,especially if they’re clad in tiny shorts,as Fakih is right now. The girl,in her turn,is equally scornful about her home country’s conservatism. “The girls there are expected to wear the hijab and cover themselves from head to toe. My dreams wouldn’t have found acceptance there,” she says.

Fakih was 15 when she decided to become a model. “I was simply fascinated by models. Whenever possible,I would watch FTV. I told my parents that I’m going to be a model and they told me to go ahead if I wanted to,but I would have to leave their home. I couldn’t expect any financial or emotional support from them.” It was a daunting choice,but Fakih had made up her mind. “I walked out and I haven’t looked back,” she says,“It’s good to be independent.”

She may dream big,but Fakih is no ingénue. She knows the extreme competitiveness in the industry and the utter callousness of the world towards strugglers such as herself. “Some days,I take whatever assignment I get,because I have to make ends meet. In fact,there was this one time when I went without food for three days,” she confides,“Sometimes I feel like I’m earning simply in order to pay my rent.” That is another big problem — housing. The model practically seethes when she says,“I don’t understand people’s attitude. In Andheri,where I was first looking for a place to stay,most didn’t want to take models as tenants or paying guests. Their excuse is that we party all the time,have too many boyfriends. That’s such a misconception. We’re professionals. Sometimes we have to stay out late because shoots take that long. Before I moved in with friends,I was staying with a family. I moved out because they had all these rules and regulations about timings which I just couldn’t follow.”

But irate and intractable landlords are just part of the problem; a lurking nightmare is the dreaded ‘casting couch’. “It’s there,definitely. I have friends who have had indecent proposals and suggestions made to them. I hope and pray I never find myself in such a situation — I simply wouldn’t know how to react,” she says with a shudder.

It’s been a year since Fakih decided to put her trust in herself and came to India in pursuit of her dreams. Much has happened since then and not all of it has been bad. She’s done a few good ramp shows,for instance the Jaipur Fashion Week. “There was a time when I would get Rs 5,000 for one day’s work. Now,I get considerably more than that.” She’s also acted in a few television shows,including Aahat,Mahi Way and Channel V’s Love Net,and has shot for a part in Sagar Bellary’s upcoming film Hum,Tum Aur Shabana. But she’s not one to be distracted into dreams of tinsel town. “Look at me; I was born to be a model,” she says,laughing and striking a dramatic pose,“I won’t rest till I’m a supermodel.”