‘Modelling is not a frivolous profession’

Model, actress, doctor and a mother of two, Aditi Govitrikar, speaks to City Times about balancing the various roles in her life

SHE STUMBLED upon her career that eventually brought her fame -by accident.

She was a college student at the time in Pune, India, studying to be a doctor. One day she saw an ad for a beauty contest and her boyfriend suggested she take part in it. She had the looks and the figure. So she did, and was selected.

Gaining confidence, she then entered the Gladrags Supermodel Contest in Bombay and won it. Pretty soon the offers came pouring in.

Meanwhile she completed her studies and became a gynaecologist.

But she found herself doing medicine and modelling at the same time and it became difficult to juggle both. So she left medicine and decided to concentrate on modelling.

“And that’s how I became a model by accident,” recalled Aditi Govitrikar, in a chat with City Times at Dubai’s Jumeirah Beach Hotel where she had come as an invited celebrity for the launch of Santorini, a Greek themed lifestyle resort on Marjan Island in Ras Al Khaimah.

“I always wanted to be a doctor.

So it’s been a shock to me how I became a model. Destiny, I suppose, what else?”

She also won the Asian Super Model Contest in Singapore where she was voted the ‘Best Face’ and the ‘Best Body’.

In 2001 she bagged the Mrs World title.

She has appeared in a number of music videos and ads, including for Coca Cola with Hrithik Roshan that catapulted her to the dream belle status in the modelling world.

Born into an orthodox Maharashtrian family, she married her Muslim boyfriend, Dr Muffazal Lakdawalla in 1999, thoroughly shocking her parents. “So it was my husband who actually prodded me into modelling,” she said.

She is a mother of two, an 8-yearold daughter and 1-year-old son.

Aditi Govitrikar boasts of a figure that is the envy of many younger starlets in the glamour industry.

When asked whether she is a fitness freak, she said, “No, I’m not a fitness freak. It’s just that I like to keep in shape. I’ve a pair of jeans that I always like to fit in.”

She said she does spinning exercises which are good for the lower body and also goes to a gym three times a week. “You know, I returned to modelling just three months after my daughter was born. I’m generally blessed. I don’t put on weight easily.”

She has also ventured into films, having done a Telugu film.

‘I’d like to do Hindi films, if possible,” she said.

But at the moment she is more focused on breaking into TV and recently completed Fear Factor, a TV reality show with Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar.

“The publicity for Fear Factor has been amazing,” she pointed out.

So a model, actress, doctor and a mother of two.

How does she balance all the roles? “Yeah... I have to strike the right balance and sometimes it’s difficult,” she admitted.

“But there are times when I actually say no to some jobs. I also try not to take back-toback assignments.”

Being part of the modelling and fashion world, Aditi Govitrikar has definite views about fashion. “I’d say fashion and being fashionable are two different things,” she pointed out.

“As for trends, they are set by various people, like designers in the fashion capitals of the world.

But to me being fashionable means combining your comfort level with the existing trends.”

The glamourous model-5’ 7, statuesque, marble-eyed, however, is not only about beauty, make-up and mascara.

This beauty has brains too.

“You might lose your physical beauty at any time,” she said.

“But your education will always stand you in good stead.”

She said she reads a lot, mainly fiction and philosophy, authors like Robin Cook, Paulo Coelho, Agatha Christie and others.

Finally, when asked how come an evidently intelligent woman like her has opted for a frivolous profession like modelling over medicine and whether she has ever regretted her decision, she shot back, “First of all, modelling is not a frivolous profession.

You have to be disciplined, hardworking, and give it hundred per cent to be successful.

So, I’ve no regrets.”

She paused for a second, then added, “In fact, the only regrets in life are the risks you don’t take.”

Take ten with Aditi

If you could have dinner with four famous people from history, who would they be?

Adolf Hitler, Arjun from Mahabharata, Abraham Lincoln and Lokmanya Tilak.

How would you like to be remembered?

Fondly... by everyone.

What one word would your friends use to describe you?

A good friend.

What are you most proud of?

My two children.

What is the one thing about you few people know?

That I’m quite brave.

What do you dislike most about yourself?

Sometimes, my impulsiveness.

What do you dislike most in others?

Unprofessionalism, unpunctuality.

What do you like best about your job?

Get to meet people and travel. My ambition is to travel to 50 countries; I have finished 37 so far.

What would you like your children to be when they grow up?

Doesn’t matter, as long as they become something.

Anne Frank once said that in spite of everything, she believed people were basically good.

Do you agree? Disagree?

Agree... generally people are good.

citytime@emirates.net.ae