07 June,2026 07:46 AM IST | Mumbai | Akshita Maheshwari
Gahan Nimmala, who has been a model for close to a decade now, had worked with Divyanshu Joshi. He says worker rights are close to non-existent for models with no union, governing body, or health insurance. “Forget accident coverage, you aren’t even paid extra to be in dangerous environments,” he says. Pic/Nishad Alam
Would you risk your life for a shot?
Modelling has not left the imagination of small-town India even today. Any girl who is above 5' 7" in height dreams of being on magazine covers and any boy with a buff build dreams of walking the runway. The 1990s gave that dream an address. Liberalisation flooded Indian television and newsstands with advertisements, and suddenly the industry needed faces - ordinary faces, from anywhere. Contests like Femina Miss India and Kingfisher Calendar sent a clear signal to small-town India: you don't need a godfather in Bollywood, just a good face and a bus ticket to Mumbai.
Indian couture, too, has gone global in the last decade - with Sabyasachi making an appearance at the Met Gala in 2024, Gaurav Gupta dressing Beyoncé in 2023, and Rahul Mishra marking his presence at Paris Fashion Week since 2014.
Modelling is the biggest it has ever been, and yet last week 26-year-old model, Divyanshu Joshi drowned in a quarry in Kerala. Joshi worked and modelled for Delhi-based fashion label Kartik Research. He and his team were at the location as part of a promotional shoot for the fashion label. However, news reports say that the area had been cordoned off and that permission had not been taken to enter or shoot at the location.
Kartik Research, in a statement, expressed their condolences for Joshi and clarified, "As inaccurate accounts of this tragedy continue to circulate, we wish to clarify that Divyanshu was in Kerala as part of a seasonal photo shoot and was not participating in any swimming related activity as part of the production. Some public reports have mischaracterised the circumstances of the incident."
When we asked around in the industry, many told us that the incident sounds like an accident and there isn't a story to be told. Others refused to speak. This is not an isolated incident either. In 2023, 24-year-old Vanshika Chopra died tragically when a massive lighting truss collapsed on her during a fashion show in Noida. Time and again, models risk their lives for a shot. The reality of their lives seems distant from the aspirations they were once sold.
At 19, Gahan Nimmala left his little village near Hyderabad to move to Delhi to pursue modelling. He worked hard, and yet "it took me three years to fully land on my feet," he says. Now alongside modelling he's also started directing shoots on his own with labels like Shivan and Narresh and Kardo. In 2024, Divyanshu Joshi was working as a creative assistant for Nimmala. "He was very hardworking. Even then, he was juggling between multiple jobs. He was the sole breadwinner in his family," Nimmala tells us, his voice heavy with grief.
Nimmala is still waiting for all the facts of the case to unfold. Still, he says being put in unsafe conditions is nothing new in the industry. "Risk-taking is considered a part of your professionalism as a model," Nimmala says.
He recalls an incident where he had to sit at the edge of a rooftop for a shot. "In that kind of situation, there is wind, you can lose your balance, anything can happen," he says, "We call these guerrilla shoots - when you go to a place where shooting is not allowed or you're not taking any permissions. So you do it as an unscheduled shoot with a very small team, a model, photographer, and maybe a makeup person. You go there, get your shot done, and quickly come out."
Since it is unscheduled, there is no safety protocol. If a model feels uncomfortable, they find it hard to speak up. He adds, "If you speak up, you're not sure if you'll get your next job with the same designer or the same team."
Model exploitation is rampant, he argues. "When you come from a small town and land your first job, sometimes you just do a gig for free. Sometimes it's called a collaboration, sometimes a barter, sometimes they say you'll get exposure," Nimmala says, "A new model might realise he is being exploited by his tenth job, and by then it's too late to react."
He also points out that models get to know what the gig is when they land on the set. "For a model who gets to be booked by an agency, sometimes even mood boards aren't shared beforehand. So there is not enough time in most cases to say no or prep," he says.
His biggest frustrations are the worker rights. "There is no union. We get no health insurance. There is no accident coverage. There isn't even a body to report POSH incidents. If something happens to me, where do I complain?" he asks. "Forget accident coverage, you aren't even paid extra to be in dangerous environments. In the case of Divyanshu, he was the sole breadwinner for his family, he had two sisters and a mother, and now he's lost his life. Who is responsible for that?" he asks. "We do pay our taxes to the government and we give agencies their cuts, so where are our rights?"
Sonalika Sahay, Model
Sonalika Sahay has been a model for two decades, walked runways for the likes of Sabyasachi and Manish Malhotra, and has even been the face of Christian Dior watches in India. She's no stranger to shooting in perilous locations. "It's a part of a model's life," she says, "I once shot in Leh once when it was minus 20 degree Celcius and the lehenga I was wearing barely covered anything. But the minute the shot was done, the team would run and cover me with blankets."
She also remembers shooting once as she hung off the 10th floor of a building. "I have been skydiving and I don't have a fear of heights. So, I said yes. The photographer also hung with me, there were harnesses all around us."
Sahay says that accidents do happen, which is where a good team comes in. "There is always a big team: stylists, makeup artistes, photography team, video team. They watch out for you. "
The advent of agencies has helped models fight for their rights. "Good agencies very clearly mention nine hours of work and meals [in the contract]," Sahay says, "There was a time when they would just expect you to work 16 hours, shoot with 20 to 30 outfits in one day, which is humanly impossible."
One legal body that has helped is the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI). "When fashion meets are happening, FDCI really makes sure that models are taken care of, in terms of financials, travel, stay, food."
Milind Soman, 60, Veteran model
It's really terrible news to hear," says Milind Soman, one of India's most iconic models. "But we don't know the full story. I would just like to say that people have to be careful. It is expected that anybody you work for will be careful as well, but you also have to be careful for yourself."
We ask him about the safety norms for iconic shoot with model Madhu Sapre where they had pythons around their bodies. He says, "This was a python which isn't venomous. I know about snakes. If it was a cobra, I would have probably refused. But since it was a python, and I like pythons, I said yes."
How can models ensure safety? "If you're working with fire, you will have fire safety people there. If you're working in a construction site, you have to make sure you're not in a place where something could fall on your head. It's intrinsic to the situation, you will know," he says, "I'm very aware of what could be dangerous for me and what would be safe. People generally just need to be careful and not agree to things they're not comfortable with."
Akanksha Khurana Jeet, Founder, Purple Thoughts Modelling Agency
Founder of Purple Thoughts, a leading modelling agency in India, Akanksha Khurana Jeet says, "Health insurance and accident cover isn't standard practice in India at all," she says, "Internationally, such things are provided, because clients are willing to provide insurance."
"However, whenever any adventure is involved, we ask for safety checks. A lot of the talent we work with is underage, so a chaperone is always present with them on set," she says, "If they face any mental harassment, we do intervene."
"Modelling isn't just scheduling and showing up. There's a lot more invovled. You need an agent's eye to provide those things for your model," she says, "Everyone knows her now, but we'd first scouted Triptii Dimri and she was with us for five years. We found her, nutured her talent, got her acting gigs and she's a superstar now."
A model mentor explains the problems faced by the industry
A leading model mentor, who chose to remain anonymous, tells us, "In New York and Europe, they have fashion workers' laws and associations for models which help models in such situations." In France, there is a law decreeing that models working in the country must possess a medical certificate deeming them fit to work. In the US too, there is the New York State Fashion Workers Act which regulates the modeling industry and protects them from exploitation.
"India, sadly, doesn't have that culture. We have one organisation, the FDCI which is an association of designers and has nothing to do with models. They simply hire models like contractors. They really don't provide anything to models in terms of guidance or legal support," he says.
On ensuring safety on sets, he says, "The production house is supposed to handle this. Similar to what you see in movies, when a hero is doing a shoot that involves driving a car, they have an ambulance, fire brigade, and other people in place. That is their SOP," he says, "But if they are cost-cutting, they might avoid it."
Agencies are a double-edged sword though. "Earlier, the Indian fashion industry was in the grip of designers. They used to decide what fashion would look like and who would become a model. Now, with the advent of agencies, that's changed. The situation is worse for freelance models. They don't know how to negotiate with brands. They are on their own. Even in the case of Divyanshu, he was not signed with any agency," he says, "However, agencies are more interested in how much money the client will give for a shoot. The moment a brand says they want to sign a model, agencies start talking about budget, time, outfit changes. Nobody is asking what the risk involved is."
Industry stalwarts tell us the aspiration of being a model is dying
Models used to be an exclusive bunch of personalities," says costume designer and fashion stylist Rick Roy, "Back in the day, they were all individualistic in their appearance, body language, and personalities. They also had an aura about them. That was a model."
In recent decades though, the meaning of a model has changed. Fashion journalist and former editor of some of the leading magazines of India, Sujata Assomull says, "When you think about what Dino [Morea], Milind [Soman], or Ujjwala [Raut] were, we don't have those kinds of figures anymore. Even if you look internationally, no one's quite the same as the OGs like Naomi [Campbell] and Linda [Evangelista]."
"Though we don't have those classic supermodels anymore, we have some great names doing well internationally right now, like Bhavitha Mandava," Assomull says, "Back then, we were a much more close-knit industry. Many of the models were my friends, as were the photographers. We worked with the belief that we were growing an industry."
One thing that changed everything was: "Social media," says Roy, "both in good and bad ways. Social media has affected it in both good and bad ways. Access is much easier now. You don't need to be scouted to be discovered."
"But, the difference between a model and an influencer has blurred. Everyone is trying to be an influencer, not necessarily a model," Roy says, "The exclusivity of being a fashion model is barely there anymore. Modelling has become a gateway profession to either becoming an actor or an influencer."
Nimmala also believes that Bollywood changed the scenario. "Not just by becoming showstoppers [at runway shows], but even getting a magazine cover. Back then, most magazine shoots were graced by models. Now, every month you have a celebrity on the cover," Nimmala says, "When a brand has a campaign or a fashion show, a larger chunk of the money is allotted to the celebrity or the influencer. The models only get the leftovers, maybe 10 per cent."
