AI Algorithms and the Death of a Model
It takes way more than nepotism to get the first cut, but there are hounds hiding behind veils of social media to dupe you of your dreams
I am 21, and my Instagram bio reads ‘Aspiring Journalist’. Being an extrovert with a craze for new avenues, I cuffed news writing onto a sidewall. The lockdown was an eyeopener for many, but my story has a stark progression and a realistically twisty redemption.
I was 10, when I kept telling everyone I’ll be the Miss Universe. Come class 7, and haughty, low-key narcissistic girls of my school mocked me for my nerdy profile. The longer I looked in the mirror, the more I believed I was just another wheatish girl who could not be a boy’s dreamgirl or crush.
And yet, good hair days or a look in the mirror of my hazed bathroom after a long shower made me believe otherwise.
Fast forward to last year of school, and I became a ‘diva’ who was not just eye-candy, but also the best at her knowledge game. Puberty did me good!
Boys were intimidated by my debating skills, and did not quite believe I was a package- an actor, a singer, an extemporist and all this while not a speck on my grades- I had Humanities with Maths and Economics. I was hounded by side glances of jealous girls, but my love and sisterhood for them never actually wavered.
I have hazed memories of the first two years of college and a clear, binocular one of my last, thanks to a decision I took on Instagram.
Instagram.
The place where being a model seemed real.
I despised ‘faces’, I despised influe.ncers thinking they had nothing better to do but just pose- I found some of them ‘less pretty’ and well-styled, in my vanity.
Modeling was way off my charts for long- I am a Pikachu, just 5’1 or 2 in height I believe. Stuck in my grandmother’s place in Kanpur for the testing period of the initial lockdown, I remember being complimented for my looks, clear skin, and complexion, and the starlet personality didn’t take long to sink in. I started singing and doing live interactions on StarMaker, and Instagram. I was doing everything college and work prohibited me from — cooking, writing poetry, and campus ambassadeering for a menstrual company with video blogs.
I came back to Delhi, and met a dear friend and now boss, who encouraged me to follow the Keto diet. Health was a priority, but a slimmer figure couldn’t kill. I started making Keto vlogs on YouTube, and gained more confidence in my personality and looks. I was following fitness models and it wasn’t long that I found my ‘Big Break’.
The Big Break into an industry of scammers.
If you know government organizations, there is a class A of bureaucrats who get in through the UPSC exam, and then there are small-time appointees or Class D employees who are ushered in on pretexts of the ‘Sarkari Babu’ dream. All their life they make peace with the fact that they are a government servant who will be paid by the government post-retirement, and so they do not push themselves enough, work harder than a corporate employee and are given a meager sum as old-age money. The modeling and glamour industry is just that.
There are photographers who act as casting agents with some hundred followers.
https://www.instagram.com/artsyladka/
(Report on Instagram)
Ranjith Bhaskar, I saw your advertisement for a casting call, but all I saw was you dissing girls, pointing out those who were unscrupulous, you called my terrace shoot ‘unprofessional’ and when I finally managed to click images that fit your bill, you came up with excuses like ‘bad makeup’ and ‘untoned arms’.
So here we are, staring at the profile of a wannabe singer and photographer with little skill for both. The music video is done and dusted for.
My ego made me push, and I kept searching for casting pages. All of them came with a price in the garb of classes, makeup lessons and portfolio shoots. I knew by now I had to spend to be clicked, and I shortlisted an agency called @PortfolioboxPhotograpy. A woman pressed me for registrations, she was the exact example of salespeople who sell bald people combs. I was told I will get an Amazon Flipkart garment shoot and 20 portfolio pictures for my modeling profile at Rs 4000.
@Portfoliobox (report on Instagram): They scam models.
Point Number 1: Amazon Flipkart Shoots Are NOT Modelling Profiles!
Think about it, if a brand wishes to market themselves, should you pay them or should they pay you? No matter how many times someone tells you are a fresher, don’t fall for it.
I was geared up for this shoot because by then I had no knowledge of the same, but just a day before this excellent saleswoman who I am awestruck with, seeing her dedication to mint money out of dumb models and being really good at her game, called me.
‘Gauri, are you interested in a Punjabi music video shoot?’
I can’t dance- I have two left feet. I can’t sing a Punjabi song without getting the lyrics wrong. But the master saleswoman made me believe I could do it- but there was a price to pay.
10,000 rupees for the second lead.
Whoever told me that I was to pay that sum for starring in an ad film, or for shoots- I blatantly refused. But I negotiated and felt I was getting a master deal in Rs 8000.
I got ready, booked a cab, and entered the Fashion Street of Hauz Khas village in Delhi- the hub of big dreams with no substance. It was a house of clouds and I was not afraid to fall- I was too confident that if I reached there, I was invincible and this new family will not let me fall.
Lucky Arora (@luckz_arora) is the owner of this agency and might be a few years elder to me. In my admiration, I called him Sir, and nodded to the dance directions of the beautiful, stylish choreographer as I heard a zealous, aspiring actor complain about how he was not fine with being second- he claimed to have spent 2.5 lakhs in ALT Balaji acting school and could not settle for less.
Lucky ‘Sir’ (Please report, so that dumbfucks like him don’t dupe others)
Real Agency to be a model instead!
Fast forward to the shoot day, I reached earlier than the unprofessional producer Lucky and the master saleswoman. It was clear she was doing this for a commission. The ALT Balaji hero quivered in nervousness as I looked at him, being encouraging, and gave my shoots like I was doing this every day.
I saw the first lead, a girl who seemed humbler in her family background. She spent 15,000 rupees to be the lead. Having a bad professional experience in BTech, she believed she was fit for this field. Sadly, her shots did not turn out to be promising.
What was strikingly the first slap to consciousness was the entry of two more girls who were nowhere in sight on the rehearsal day. One was lean and beautiful, the other had bad skin and her bulges popped from a dress that was clearly not for her. They jumped on the makeup chair as we looked on for our turn, clearly dumbstruck.
Point Number 2: If you think payment can save you from Nepotism, I invite you to face a white lie.
Well, human bias will always exist. Nothing can change it. You could be a model, but having the producer as your boyfriend is what lets you have screen time. Your added job is to look pretty. And makeup can make the ugliest faces look that- so there is no real talent in looking a certain way. These shoots charge you for the skill of the men and women with lipsticks and brushes laden with cosmetics.
I was now desperate for my shot, and screen time. So I dressed in my sports bra and a military jacket and gave suggestive dance shots. I could not withstand the competition. I was too jilted for it.
All the way back home with kind, splurging company, we complained of the bias. We could do nothing about it.
We were promised an outdoor shoot, which Lucky said will happen on another day. It was promised on the same day.
So, feeling cheated and neglected, I walked out of the song deal, and did not pay a penny more. The money-hungry hound Lucky Arora called this karma and kalyug, when I questioned him what happens to my 4000 rupees of hard-earned money which I had saved after months of tutoring and projects. Left with not a single picture and no presence in the video- as if I was never there, I am surprisingly still on the trashy poster they designed, on the instagram page.
See It Here. And Please Report. This is without my consent.
Moral Number 3: Do not fall for numbers. Blue Ticks are definitely more trustworthy, though you will be duped if you let them.
I ignored the red flags. I didn’t care for family and friends’ words against it. I was sure I will not borrow, I was fitted with rose-tinted glasses.
You may ask if I am still into posing. Well, the model in me will not die. I will treat her like an alter-ego and medicate down her effects with the vial of these experiences.
I cannot throw away my white-collar efforts and dream for something so spontaneous and without a bedrock. I may have shrunken my academic goals from a Ph.D. and authorship to a shot at the corporate media and marketing world, but I will definitely not spin to be just of ‘face value’.
Did I mention I was into theatre?
I wanted to be in Bollywood.
And I know how to be in it, just that this world of faces has left me too tired to pursue it. I have too much to lose, but for those of you who don’t: I will give you an advice I learned after spending Rs 4000. It will save a lot from your pocket.
1. Make a choice, and pursue it. This is for every field. All the faces you see trying to dance, pose, or act made a choice. People study engineering and are bad at it. People study marketing and switch to authorship. They make a choice. Make a conscious choice- do you have what it takes to be a model or actor? Can you and your family afford your dreams? Are you ready to leave everything for it? If not, then do not expect much from this field. Millions like you can cut for a position, and that is why we have women posing in lingerie and having sex in web series. Two minutes of fame made a female-rights advocate like me dance suggestively to lyrics that called women gold-diggers. The camera flash blinds you in the name of art, but in reality, they are mass broadcasting something very personal to them as a price to make it big. I respect women who make this conscious choice, but if someone tells you to strip to make it big- tell them NO.
2. Money or influence can get you a spot, but cannot make you retain it. If you have decided to be an actor or model, work on yourself. Work on your expressions, body, voice, and vocals. Practice in front of a mirror, or people- you cannot be shy when you perform. Leave the procrastination- you have to push through a crowd of people who think, and may actually be better than you. You need a real acting or dance school. Even the National School of Drama and Shaimak Dabar classes cannot promise a career in the industry, so nothing lesser will substantially count. You can go for the second-best, but please do not let anyone scam you that you need them, and not talent. The best in the game cannot be glued to their spot- what makes you think they can save you?
Actors you see today did dozens of ignored advertisements till a fraction of them made it here. Or the other option is known very well to all of us.
3. There is no lottery in any field. If you want a government job, you have to study for years or be the best in the first and second go itself. You have six shots at this. Corporate comes a bit easy- a good college degree and placement can promise a decent salary. Do not throw away post-graduation for anything- it is very important to be significant in the field. And when it comes to the world of glitz- it takes real theatre artists decades and hungry bellies to be where they are. If you hate someone for their backing- it was a matter of destiny, and your time may come late, but it eventually will.
Here’s my million's worth of advice to people for life. And just because it comes for free, don’t throw it away! If you do, you end up losing not just money, but a dream.
Thanks for conversations that taught me a lot about cinema, standup, and life at large. These anecdotes are not just mine, they are hours of conversation compressed from years of binging interviews and cinema by this gem, which we have further compressed for you.
To my mom, who let me have a journey of my own and supports me despite anything. Your trust in the fact that I will find my way and not give you a chance to mistrust me is what keeps me on the right path.
Also, thank you Ritwik Bhowmik and Shreya Chaudhary of Bandish Bandits, not only did you make millions like me fall in love again, but also inspired me about real struggle and the way to go about things. Beautiful people with experiences carved with struggles in the truest sense.
Wait for your dreams to materialize. Work so hard that they become a reality without putting you and your loved ones at risk. Many musicians and Stand-up artists left their jobs after being comfortable with money. Value it, don’t lose it in the influence of rose-colored glasses.
Side Note: Don’t forget to report the scammers. This is not a revenge blog, but an attempt to save any future aspirant from people who are fooling in the name of money. @Habibinextinfashion will genuinely give you opportunities to pose and work for shoots. He is the man behind my pictures.
Also, you may see me in another shoot soon!
