‘I never thought I’d be a model one day’
Roots calling
The Indian fashion industry took model Nitya Duella by surprise. She was approached by a few modelling agents when she was holidaying in India with her parents.
Her half Indian, half-Swiss looks caught their attention and ever since, she has been making heads turn on the runway.
“I took up modelling more out of curiosity than passion. Before this, I was just a normal girl in Switzerland studying and hanging out with my friends. When I started getting many offers to model here, my parents felt that I should give it a shot and here I am,” says Nitya, who was in the City recently for a fashion show.
Her mother being an Indian, her connect with this country was always there. “My mom has always made me aware of my roots. This is my first visit to the country. When I landed here, I really felt like I was returning to my roots,” she says.
Within a span of three months, Nitya had walked the ramp for many well-known designers including Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Rohit Bal, Manish Malhotra, JJ Valya, Wendell Rodricks and Rajesh Pratap Singh among others.
“It’s interesting how I was always curious about the fashion industry but never thought I would be a model one day,” she adds. So what does she enjoy about the profession? “I think more than the physical part of keeping fit, the profession is also mentally stimulating. And from what I have seen so far, Indian fashion changes so fast and yet, maintains its identity,” she adds.
Her colleagues and people who meet her often compare her foreign looks to that of Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif. Ask her if she ever wants to jump to acting and she laughs.
“Never. I can’t act for peanuts. One needs to be extremely expressive to be on screen. I don’t think I can do justice to that. I am still exploring and enjoying modelling and when I do go back to Switzerland, I may try and be more in tune with the fashion scene there as well,” she sums up.
