Everyone ogled at Julia Roberts in Pretty Women. Men fell in lust and women were envious of the perfect-10 body. But it was all a mere illusion those long legs in incredibly short minis with those oh-so sexy long boots, did not belong to Julia Roberts but a body double. So maybe, there is no such thing as the body perfect?

And even in India, super models like Madhu Sapre, Laila Rouass and Sushmita Sen use body doubles in ad films. There are a whole host of people who make pots of extra cash for lending their hands, feet, backs and shoulders to make sure these models look perfect. For instance, a simple shot of a hand can earn a `spare-part model' as much as Rs 4,000.

Abroad, the body modelling industry is well regulated and there are even specialised modelling agencies for them. In India, though, it has yet to come into its own and model co-ordinators spend precious hours searching for perfect hands and feet. Often, spare-part models are simply picked up from within the agency. Take Crystabel Smith, for instance. She works for the Whitelight production house in the accounts department. Her boss, Nomita Ghose, suggested that she lend her a hand as her nails were always well-groomed. Since then, she has been in a host of ads, including the Tips and Toes and Britannia campaigns. In the Cloud Nine cosmetics ad, she lent Madhu Sapre a hand. Her boss's advice has turned into an easy way of earning extra money.

Nilakshi Sen Gupta, agency producer for Lintas, has chipped in too. Two ad-films done in Nairobi required some pack shots when completed. These were done in a Mumbai studio with Nilakshi's help. "They needed someone with a dark skin-tone," she says. The ad-films were made for the African market and were for HLL's Green Wheel and Kimbo, a cooking medium. She was initially shocked at the request but soon saw that most producers use separate models for pack shots.

Amit Gulati is another such example. He has been with Palette Communications since 1992 where he does behind-the-scenes production work. But his back, hands and shoulders are no strangers to the camera. Like Crystabel, it was at his boss's suggestion that he became a body model. He says, "I love facing the camera and feel absolutely at home in front of it, But unfortunately, I have a strange problem called photo phobia," he says. This means he is sensitive to bright light. "It's impossible for me to open my eyes if I'm not wearing sun glasses," he adds. So his face cannot grace magazine covers. Says Amit, "I guess the reason why I do body, hand and feet modelling stems from the fact that I love the camera." He is the Shower to Shower model, where Suraj Thapar is in front of the camera but the back is pure Amit Gulati. For Kalyani Beer, he is the hand of Rajiv Kachru. And he has even stepped in for Vinod Kambli for a Four Square promo. Palette shot this commercial while Kambli was in Pune. As Kambli did not have the time to come to Mumbai for the two-day shoot, Amit was used as a body double.

There are two main reasons why production houses use different models for pack shots. "Some models may have a good physique but in extreme close-ups, the texture may not be right. Sushmita Sen, for instance, may be a Miss Universe, but her hands are far from perfect. Hema Malini's ageing hands too were not quite right for a close-up shot in the Good Knight Mosquito ad.

The second, more overriding factor, is cost. Twenty-year-old Chandani Jain has done over 50 assignments as a hand model and charges at least Rs 5,000 for a shoulder shot. But compared to what a well-known model charges per day, it works out much cheaper. "It makes better sense to use me as I specialise in this work," she explains. Also models are often too busy to do pack shots as they are always done right at the end of the campaign in the studio.

Chandani's feet were also used in the Crack Cream ad and her shoulders and hands have been used in a whole host of Ponds' ads, including the one featuring Laila Rouass. And not all spare-part models want to face the camera. Chandani prefers to do her bit -- bit by bit. "It is more regular work and not so much effort. Models can go for 20 video tests before they get work. This is a simple job, no complications and easy money," she says.

But do these spare-part models have to spend hours taking care to their vital assets? Not according to Chandani. "I don't do anything special just apply cream," she says. So keeping perfect hands is easier than getting that perfect figure. And almost as lucrative.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.