Mid-Day

Dubai, Jun 17: The models who were part of the fashion show at the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards in Dubai are very unhappy. A band of India’s top models, including Diandra Soares, Binal Trivedi, Shamita Singha, Nina Manuel, Mridula Chandrashekhar, Deepti Gujral, Candice Pinto, Vidisha Pavate, Tinu Varghese, Tapur and Tupur Chatterjee, were signed on by Wizcraft, an event management company, to walk the ramp for designers Manish Malhotra and Vikram Phadnis at the awards.

Ticket trouble

The first hint of trouble came when the models were unable to reach air ticket coordinator Mehnaaz just two days before the event. “I spent the whole of Monday trying to figure out how to collect my tickets from Mehnaaz, and I wasn’t the only one in despair,” said Binal in a telephonic interview from Dubai.

Cramped quarters

When the glamorous troupe arrived in Dubai, they were given accommodation at the Savoy Service Apartments, while the rest of the crew, including the media and Bollywood stars, were allotted rooms at the swanky five-star Hyatt Regency.

But the reason tempers hit the roof was that three models were cramped into one room. Two had to share the bed, while one had to sleep on the couch. This is when the models decided to put their foot down. They wouldn’t do the show until they were transferred to a five-star, just like the rest. After waiting for three hours in the lobby, they were given a room at the Hyatt.

Checkout problems

However, the ordeal didn’t end there. With the fashion show ending on June 15, and the return tickets being booked for 10.30 pm the next day, the models assumed they’d be allowed to stay at the hotel even though check out was at 12 noon.

“The organizers assured us we could have the room. But when we returned from the fashion show at 1.30 pm, a note was left on our table asking us to vacate at noon. If we decided to stay, we’d have to bear the tariff,” says an exasperated Candice. Finally, 10 of them were given two rooms. In spite of repeated calls and text messages, Viraf Sarkari of Wizcraft wasn’t available for comment.

Models speak

It wasn’t like we had gate-crashed at IIFA. We were specially flown down to walk the ramp. We deserve to be treated with respect. - Mridula Chandrashekar

Before we boarded the flight to Dubai, Wizcraft officials had said they they would put us up at the Hyatt. On reaching there,they came up with lame excuses stating Hyatt was packed. There is a world of difference between how Bollywood stars are taken care of and the way we are treated. - Nina Manuel

Wizcraft has a track record of treating models like fillers. We are top models and expect certain standards. In the last three days, all we have done is argued and screamed our lungs out for everything, including food. - Diandra Soares