Ketholeno Kens, aka Leno, is a small town girl who dreamt big. She was a regular on the ramps of Bhima-pur, but never ventured beyond those terrains. However, things changed dramatically for this Nagaland beauty after she won the Kingfisher Supermodel Hunt, making her the first girl from the Northeast to pose her way to a space every model in the country would give a tooth and nail to be in, The Kingfisher Calendar!
The eldest of six siblings, Leno comes from a humble background. Her father works as a security guard in a company back home, while her mother looked after the six kids.
“Things were not always easy while we were growing up. There were a lot of financial problems, considering there was one earning member and eight mouths to feed,” she recalls. Leno started modelling in Class XI and gave most of the money she earned to her family. Leno’s parents were rather open minded about their eldest born walking the ramp.
“Where I come from, the concept of modelling is literally unheard of it. However, my parents supported my decision, even to model in a bikini if required, as long as it wasn’t vulgar. While I was in Delhi participating in the contest, back home they would tune into NDTV Goodtimes only to watch me on national TV,” says the five-foot-nine-inch model and an Economics Honours graduate. A few years down the line, she wants to get a diploma in finance and work for a financial institution or a bank.
Like most girls, the glitz, glamour and all things nice of the industry enticed her to step into the world of ramps and spotlight. “The gorgeous clothes, shoes and the locales, I love all of it,” she gushes. But then the glint in her eye disappears almost as soon as it appears. “There have been times when the unspoken word has made me realise that there are people who look down upon us (people from the Northeast). Though I have not had a personal encounter, it is nevertheless there,” says the former basketball player. “I keep my head straight, my mind focused and try not to let the things affect me,” says the model who feels her strongest assets are the very same features that make her stand out, her Northeastern looks. “The fact that I have dusky skin also adds to my appeal, making me, almost... exotic,” she smiles.
A conversation with her makes one feel as though she is untouched by the world, almost raw and pure to an extent. “This is the first time I have stepped out of home and I am working hard to learn the ropes,” says Leno. “I am enjoying every moment of it,” she says with a giggle. Speaking of the show and her journey in it, Leno found good friends in models Bianca and Pardeep and says that the show pushed her to the brink. “I have never worked as hard in my life as I did in this show. There were times when I wanted to quit but I pushed myself,” she says. Leno loves singing and dancing, but insists that she isn’t a social or a party animal. “I prefer peace and quiet to a lot of loud music,” she says.
Recognize these three beauty queens?
How about now? Pictured here are the famous trio and winners of Miss World, Miss Universe and Miss Asia Pacific crowns respectively. That's right, Priyanka Chopra, Lara Dutta and Dia Mirza brought home all three trophies in the millennium year.Whether we realise it or not, most of our leading ladies today were either beauty queens, ramp models or calender girls. And while some have made a smooth transition into the silver screen, others weren't as lucky. Browse through to learn more about Bollywood's brazen divas! Aishwarya Rai Bachchan: Before becoming 'Mrs. Bachchan', Ash was crowned Miss World in 1994, before which she had already won a super model contest and featured on the American Vogue.Sushmita Sen: Sushmita made headlines when she took home the Miss Universe crown in 1994. She is credited with being the first woman of Indian origin to ever do so. Dia Mirza: Another first was Dia's win (Miss Asia Pacific, 2000). She became the first Indian contestant to win the title in 29 years. Prior to her title win, she also appeared in print and television advertisement campaigns for various brands.Priyanka Chopra: Unarguably talented and a skyrocketing career as proof, many forget that Priyanka's tryst with fame begun with a Miss World crown that she acquired at age 20!Deepika Padukone: Spotted in a college modeling competition while still a student, Deepika went on to feature in several TV advertisements before being awarded 'Model of the Year' by Kingfisher. She was later picked up to model for the infamous Kingfisher Calender which put her on the map to super stardom.Katrina Kaif: Katrina began modeling when she was fourteen years old while living in Hawaii. She has been part of ad campaigns including La Senza and Arcadius and even walked the ramp at the London Fashion Week (wiki). Bipasha Basu: Much like in a modern-day fairy tale, Bipasha's godmother (Mehr Jessia Rampal) spotted her in a restaurant and suggested that she pursue modeling. She listen to her godmother and in 1996 she participated and won the Godrej Cinthol Supermodel contest and the Ford Models Supermodel of the World contest.Juhi Chawla: Way back in 1984, pretty Juhi was crowned Miss India before a full-fledged career in Bollywood took off that would span nearly three decades!Neha Dhupia: Before winning the Femina Miss India crown in 2002, Neha appeared in many advertisements and even featured in Indipop band Euphoria's music video.Jacqueline Fernandez: Apart from being crowned Miss Sri Lanka Universe in 2006, Jacqueline was an anchorwoman for the 'Lanka Business Report' and even starred in an ad with Shahid Kapoor for the brand 'VIP'.Mugdha Godse: Although Mugda was only a semi-finalist at the Femina Miss India 2004 competition, she did take home the main prize in the Gladrags Mega Model Hunt. Her modeling career would span five years before being cast in Madhur Bhandarkar's acclaimed 'Fashion'.Esha Gupta: Esha came in third in 2007's Femina Miss India competition. She appeared in Kingfisher Swimsuit Calendar's 2010 edition, after which Mahesh Bhatt signed her on for a three-film contract and an assured place amongst Bollywood's new fleet of rising stars. Lisa Haydon: After modeling for a stretch mark cream to earn a little pocket money Lisa was 'all systems go' on her dreams of becoming a Yoga teacher. However, inspired by her sister, Mallika Haydon's flourishing modeling career in India, Australian resident Lisa was India-bound. She has walked the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week and HDIL-India Couture Week ramps aside from being the face of Lakmé.Nargis Fakhri: Did you know that Nargis appeared on Tyra Banks' America's Next Top Model Cycles 2 and 3? We were just as surprised! Truely model material Nargis has signed with premiere modeling agencies including Ford (USA), NOVA (New Zealand), Leni's (London), La Agencia (Spain) and many more.Lisa Ray: Remember a stunning Lisa in a Bombay Dyeing commercial from the early 90s? Or Lisa in a red Baywatch-inspired swimsuit on the cover of Gladrags from the same time? How about 'Aafreen' in the Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan music video? Lisa was all over the television before she officially stepped into films. Diana Penty: Small time girl? Definitely not! She may be new to Bollywood but her modeling career is a different story. When Elite Model Management India signed Diana, she walked the ramp for Trussadi and Ferre in 2005. A year later, she worked with Rina Dhaka, Rohit Bal and Wendell Rodricks and even replaced Deepika Padukone as brand ambassador for Maybelline.Sarah Jane Dias: Sarah's modeling career began as an accident when she mistakenly walked onto the sets of a campaign shoot. She was signed on immediately. In 2007, Sarah took home the Femina Miss India crown.Taapsee Pannu: A few days shy from making her Bollywood debut with 'Chasme Baddoor', Taapsee began as a contestant on Channel V's 'Get Gorgeous', which led to many print and television commercials and a 'Safi Femina Miss Beautiful Skin' title at the Femina Miss India 2008 competition. With dreams of becoming a full-time model, she progressed, rather quickly into films.
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