"The earlier concept of models being dumb does not apply any more. You have qualified MBAs and doctors coming into the profession. So who’s dumb?
You definitely cannot say that compering comes at the fag end of our modelling career. In every profession, after a time, you’ve got to give way to youngsters; it’s the same with modelling. That applies to compering too. And don’t we always look around to expand our horizons?
If model MCs charge more, it is because companies don’t mind shelling out the money". - Annie Thomas
"At the end of the day, sponsors and clients love a celebrity face. You must be pleasing to the eye, BUT you also have to connect with the audience, be witty and be able to pull it off.
I’ve goofed up many times but have managed to cover up. What is most important is that it should not be blatantly clear that you have screwed up.
It is a lucrative profession. Besides, there are no hassles involved of going through agencies as in modelling but one-to-one dealing with clients. - Malaika Arora-Khan
"It’s a slap in the face of all those who think models are dumb and should not open their mouths. Come on, we’re educated, have done school, college and are not just pretty faces. We are all professionals. I have a good command over the language, speak well and can control a show.
Why shouldn’t a model take up emceeing? It has good money!" - Nafisa Joseph
"When it comes to compering, models do have an edge: they have looks, stage presence and confidence. Also, while diction and stage presence can be worked upon, it is not always possible to work on looks.
Live business has come of age in the last four years. In fact, it has become an important communication tool for corporate houses. It depends on the overall scenario, but for top notch A-level MCs, there is definitely more money in talking than in walking". - Raj K Gopalakrishnan, Director, Firefly Entertainment
"The audiences are smarter than we give them credit with, for they’d rather have a host they can relate to and have a good laugh with than a pretty face who is wiping her sweaty forehead with fright! And money definitely makes things move faster.
I am a very positive person and I recommend this profession to anyone who loves to talk. I love trying out new things, it’s one life, and I hope that I never stop doing that.
The growing numbers of model MCs do not pose any threat to professional MCs. The more the merrier. As they in any profession, ‘only the fittest survive’." - Raageshwari
THE OTHER VOICE Geetika Ganju is a self-described ‘hardcore MC’. She is not a model and was never one.
Geetika’s is a face and voice seen and heard at major live events in the capital. She is also on television with the popular ‘Meri Saheli’ programme, besides on game shows and musical countdowns. She believes that models-turning-MCs is a trend. But whether it is here to stay or a passing phase remains to be seen.
An MBA student, Geetika came into the profession around two years ago and says, "I never had any difficulty in making it. I can speak well, come with a management background and have a clear understanding of the serious business involved in events. Over the years, I’ve become more confident."
Geetika does not agree that models have an edge because of their looks or ‘known-face’ factor. Her explanation, "Looks matter, but looks alone will not do, there are some clients who say, let the glamour come from dancers, singers. Sure, you can’t have an MC without glamour, but you also cannot have a glamorous but fumbling-mumbling MC".
Do MCs face any threat from model MCs? Geetika does not think so: "The agencies are intelligent. They get models when they only require a presence, but no model will have an impact when a hardcore MC is required."
However, Geetika agrees that the profession is growing fast enough to provide room for all MCs, model or otherwise, so long as they meet the requirements.
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