Three decades after she first entered the spotlight as a model, Lara Dutta is now raising necessary questions about India's modelling industry. Reflecting on her own journey — from signing contracts alone at 16 to building a career across fashion, films and entrepreneurship — she says models still lack protection, structure and representation. Calling the industry “the wild wild west” in her early years, she believes models today need stronger voices, better safeguards, and even a union to protect their interests.
‘I was a 16-year-old who looked at my own contract. I had no lawyers’
Lara Dutta hails from an era of modelling, when supermodels were a rage. However, the sector, she thought was disorganised. “For us, it was a lot more disorganised. We never had agencies and agents. We never had anyone looking out for us or watching our backs. It was literally like you were in the wild, wild west,” she recalls, adding, “I was a 16-year-old who looked at my own contract that came to me by a multi-million dollar conglomerate across the globe. I had no lawyers or agents reading the fine print for me. And I think we learned how to navigate our way through this industry on our own. It just made us tougher and savvier.”
‘Models need more voice, they need to be their own person’
She feels the industry now has more structure, but also more pressure, while she raises a pertinent question. “Today, a lot of times, the models are at the mercy of agencies. If you want this job, this is what you’re getting paid, and this is what the environment is going to be. It’s up to you whether you want to do it or not. You are, in a way, thrown off the deep end,” she says. She further explains, “There are no unions. There never were. Even the film industry has a union. At least you have a place to go where there are laws that monitor the functioning of things. In modelling, that doesn’t exist. We have multiple fashion weeks, through the year, a massive industry, but no real structure, guidelines, or real respect for what the profession is about. Models need more voice, they need to be their own person.”
‘I’ve had the opportunity of working with one of the most talented ensemble casts’
At 47, Dutta, who is known for movies like Bhaagam Bhaag, Partner, and Andaaz, is working on two big projects – Ramayana and Welcome to the Jungle. “I’ve always said that in my 40s, I am having the best time as an actor because I’m finally doing the kind of work that I want to do,” she says. On her next big film, she adds, “I’ve got Ramayana coming out next year. It’s going to be possibly the most massive thing that’s ever come out of India. I’ve had the opportunity of working with one of the most talented ensemble casts and it was an incredible experience. This is not an easy film to make, and the characters are not easy to play.”
‘I never wanted to be boxed into one industry’
Looking back at her own 30-year trajectory, Lara says time feels unreal. “When I look back now, it feels like it’s gone in the blink of an eye. But I think the one thing that remained constant is the focus and the hard work. From the age of 16, I knew what I wanted, and I went after it. I never wanted to be boxed into one industry. I constantly moved and reinvented myself as I went through life. I refused to stay just an actress for all my life as there’s so much more that I want to do,” she reminisces.
