The world is not enough

Mumbai’s Sidharth Shukla has conquered the modelling world. On December 9, in Istanbul (Turkey), the 25-year-old Shukla was crowned Best Model of the World, beating 40 aspirants from across Asia, Latin America, and Europe. Says the former runner-up at the Gladrags Manhunt, “No Indian had won the title, so I was desperate to win.”

However, all was not a cakewalk. “At six feet two, I’m tall for an Indian. But the guys there were really tall; I was really short compared to some,” he laughs.

The contest was held in Turkish, says Shukla. “When the winners’ name was announced, all I heard was ‘Hindustan’. I was so nervous I didn’t know what to do. Only when they put the sash around me did I relax.” A student of south Mumbai’s St Xavier High School, Shukla then pursued an interiors course from Rachna Sansad.

The sportsman that he is, he represented his school in table-tennis and even played first division football. More recently, he played against AC Milan’s under-19 team on their Mumbai visit as part of Festa Italiana.

Seen in ads for Bajaj, ICICI and Digjam among others, Sidharth is perhaps the only Indian model to shoot at the Great Wall of China. Eventually though, Bollywood is where he wants to make a mark.