If someone had told 25-year-old marketing professional Rohit Raghav six months ago that he would be on the cover of the first ever Indian Mills & Boon novel,he would have laughed it off as a joke. "The very idea of having an Indian Mills & Boon is new; so shooting for its cover would have sounded far-fetched," admits Raghav. The tide of events,however,proved him wrong. Even as the first Indian Mills & Boon,His Monsoon Bride written by Mumbai journalist Astha Atrayhit the bookstores across India two days back,it's interesting to note that this is also the first Mills & Boon to have Indian models on its cover. "I have been modelling on and off for a while now; so when a friend informed me about the nationwide model hunt for the Mills & Boon cover,I applied without giving it much thought. It was a pleasant surprise when I got the call to shoot for the cover," notes Raghav,adding that he hopes to rise in the popularity stakes"both on the modelling front and with the ladies"post this shoot. For media professional Saumya,who shot along with Raghav,the feeling is yet to sink in. "I remember reading Mills & Boon back in school and my mother is still an avid reader. I can't wait to lay my hands on a copy just so she can see it with her own eyes," she says. Like Rohit,she too,had applied a few days before the contest drew to a close. And while she hasn't modelled earlier,she admits that photographer Paramjeet Chawla and model Raghav helped put her at ease. "We were urged to participate in a workshop a day before the shoot took place. The idea was to get to know each other and build a rapport that would translate into a comfortable equation before the camera," explains Raghav. Photographer Paramjeet points out that the story dictated the shoot. "I made sure that both the models knew what the story was about. In this case,the book is about a rich girl who falls for a guy who works in her father's company and the models were dressed accordingly. Saumya's attire,for instance,speaks of the character's riches; she fit the bill as she has that pretty-and-shy girl look about her," says Chawla. Manish Singh,country manager,Harlequin India observes that this is part of the Mills & Boon endeavour to connect with its Indian audiences and readers. Having Indian models on our books that is also authored by an Indian writer is a unique initiative to be implemented in India. In many ways,this also represents the global appeal Indians today enjoy at the world stage, he says. What's even more interesting is that Raghav and Saumya are not the only ones to shoot for the M&B cover; the next two booksto be written by Shoma Narayanan and Poonam Dabasalso have Indian models on their covers. Automobile engineer Avee Saroya,counsellor Esha Trikha and entrepreneurs Sahil Dhamija and Ayush Manocha are the other four who have been shortlisted by Talent Promoterz,the agency that tied up with Harlequin to put together the online model hunt. We have adapted the Mills & Boon cover for the Indian audiences,so you won't really see an out and out bold picture on the cover. In fact,if the story permits,we could also have the model clad in a sari on one of the next two M&B covers, reveals Pinkeesh Devda from Talent Promoterz. This is what M&B would call a happy ending.
