Catwalk’s a Cakewalk

Doesn’t quite gel? Tuff, as Madhu Sapre would say. For you. Or ask former Miss India Manpreet Brar Walia, who tied the knot a couple of years ago. ‘‘Things do change with marriage. I started doing more work, but at the same time, I became more focused. There is a definite time constraint now, as I have to balance family affairs with assignments,’’ she says.

And it takes a lot of doing, says Noyonika Chatterjee Singh, married to model Gurpreet Singh. ‘‘I have been living out of a suitcase, travelling between Delhi and Mumbai. It was especially tough when I was shooting for B4U for three months at a stretch and couldn’t meet my husband and my in-laws,’’ she says. ‘‘I felt uncomfortable because one does have a certain responsibility.’’

For all that, few are willing to give up the glamour for the ghar. ‘‘I did a show within a month of my marriage, still wearing my churas!’’ exclaims Preeti Sardana nee Mankotia, a former Miss India. ‘‘I told my husband I had worked too hard on modelling to give it up.’’

Adds Ruchi Malhotra, ‘‘Apart from the money, I wanted to continue modelling because I didn’t want to sit at home. But I agree, modelling is more hectic that any other job because of the odd timings. It gets difficult to spend time with family’’.

Ruchi’s husband Rajiv Makhani, a restaurateur, says that he had to make his own kind of adjustments. ‘‘Right after marriage, she went off for three months and it didn’t affect me much because I didn’t feel very married right then. But after one-and-half years, I feel uncomfortable if she is out of town for long spells,’’ he says.

Some, like Madhu Sapre, take another way out — she married an Italian, businessman Gian-Maria Emendatori. ‘‘My husband doesn’t bother much about exposure, it’s a way of life for Westerners,’’ she says.

She finds it refreshing, especially after putting up with the not-so-verbal criticism of her mother all her modelling life. ‘‘She never asks after my work, never talks about it, it doesn’t exist for her. But even today, when I’m leaving the house, she checks if I have my bra on,’’ laughs Madhu.

Sheetal Mallar, who grew up in a liberal household, on the other hand, found marriage to tennis-player Mose Navarra another sort of educative experience. ‘‘At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if you’re married to an Indian or an Italian, all men are the same. Mose is not a chauvinist, but he is quite conservative. I think he would mind if there was any sort of indecent exposure. But he’s happy that I model in India, where nudity and excessive exposure are taboo,’’ she says.

In search of a happy balance, a number of models marry men they meet on the job. Take Vidisha Pavate, who wed fashion photographer Darren Centofanti last year and continues to work with him. ‘‘He is completely at ease with my modelling, and all that goes with it,’’ says the sultry beauty. ‘‘There’s definitely a greater understanding of the business.’’

Lada Singh, a Russian who began modelling after marriage to New Delhi-based artist Ajay Singh, would agree wholeheartedly that skimpy clothes can be a huge problem with her mother-in-law.

But it wasn’t ma-in-law hassles that got former Miss India Annie Thomas down. ‘‘When a model gets married, she needs to be sure it’s to a person who respects her and her industry. I left my career for my marriage. But a year — and a divorce and a baby later — I find there are no takers for a model who’s also a mother.’’

Little wonder then that pregnancy is met more often with apprehension than anticipation. ‘‘I didn’t know how to react when I learnt I was expecting,’’ says Preeti Mankotia, who has a 10-month-old son. ‘‘I became tense, and jittery as my perfect body began to change. So many months later, I’m still struggling to get back into shape, but I’m determined to resume modelling by October.”

While Manpreet and Noyonika are certain motherhood will take a backseat to their careers for a couple of years, Simar Duggal knows from experience it is possible to juggle a modelling career and a son. ‘‘I began modelling when my son was three years old. I think my marriage gave me stability — financial and social — essential in a career where one is only as famous as one’s last appearance on the ramp,’’ she says. ‘‘The key is understanding that the glamour will fade and that there’s no point in getting attached to it.’’

As for dealing with the mum-body on the runway, Simar says, ‘‘I learnt my first lesson from Padmalakshmi, who had a long scar which she tried to hide for sometime. But that mark was what gave her her individuality and brought her the assignments.’’

Now if it were only that easy…

(Reported by Namrata Sharma-Zakaria in Mumbai, Minar Lamba, Shivani Arora in Delhi)