Mangalore:
Three internationally known Indian women – Aishwarya Rai, Shilpa Shetty and Freida Pinto – hail from Mangalore. There’s more to the region’s beauty palette than these three glamour girls. Bollywood’s super agent Reshma Shetty is believed to be the brains behind Salman Khan’s recent success. Reshma, whose family hails from Mangalore, also manages the Chammak Challo star Kareena Kapoor.
Around the time Aishwarya became the toast of the country, a dusky, leggy lass with a coastal connection emerged: Sheetal Mallar. Her family hails from Padubidri. Sheetal was a prominent feature on international ramps. Having worked for labels like Armani and Fendi, she became the face for Maybelline Cosmetics. Even the male model contingent in India has its fair share of names from this town: India’s best-known fashion choreographer Rahul Dev Shetty and young model Roshan Isaac, to name just two.
In music, singer Shweta Shetty, Bollywood and Tollywood composer Sandeep Chowta and Kannada music director Gurukiran Shetty – all from towns around Mangalore – have had their moments of glory.
While genetics may have something to do with beauty, fashion guru Prasad Bidappa says a subtle socio-cultural evolution has seen families from the region allowing their children to break from traditional career choices. Others cite the fact that Mangaloreans are enterprising, have an appetite for risk-taking and have plenty of role models to choose from within their close-knit community.
Beautiful places produce beautiful people, says Bidappa. “I find the Mangalore-Coorg belt simply breathtaking; it is one of the most beautiful, scenic parts of Karnataka. It gives you both ends of the spectrum. In Aishwarya you have the light-eyed, classical beauty; on the other end is Freida, who is dusky and stunning. Somewhere in between is Shilpa. You have the mix right there.”
Rohit Shetty, the director and cinematographer whose works include ‘Bol Bachchan’, ‘Golmaal’ and ‘Golmaal Returns’, is the only Indian filmmaker to have three Rs 100-crore grossers to his credit.
Says actor Suniel Shetty: “I was born in Mulki and brought up in Mumbai. Bappanadu temple is where I offer prayers.” Suniel is also an entrepreneur like Mangalore-born-and-raised Manmohan Shetty, who founded and developed Adlabs Films Ltd, one of India’s largest media and entertainment firms.
Bidappa argues that talent from smaller towns blossoms when it reaches big cities. “There are a lot of girls in Mangalore who look like Aishwarya. One of the things that work for people whose parents have moved to bigger cities is that they have a broader outlook and are willing to let their children dabble with the arts. You are seeing the same scenario unfold for 20-year-old model Dayana Erappa, whose career picked up after she moved to Bangalore.”
“What helps youngsters from Mangalore as they try to make a mark in the glamour industry is that they have many role models to look up to,” says fashion designer Krishnamani Ballal, who retails under the label Krsna.
“Also, most Mangaloreans can trace their roots back to warrior races or clans. Being enterprising and adventurous is in our genes.”
Says Shilpa, who has strong ties with the city: “My father’s ancestral house is in Karkala, which is green and open. To me, Mangalore is synonymous with connecting with nature.”
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> City> Mangalore / TNN / July 28th, 2012
