Being Authentic Makes Work Meaningful, Says Supermodel Diva Dhawan.

“It’s very natural to be meaningful”

Supermodel, Diva Dhawan was stunning as she opened up about starting out fairly young in the modeling industry yet managing to retain her authenticity.

“The work that I do, you’re constantly in front of the camera and if you don’t bring meaning to your work, it shows.”

So it is very important for her work to have a purpose. But doing meaningful work equally comes with being honest to self.

Tracing her 10-year-old modeling career, she says starting young has its share of problems but sticking to the truth is the only way out.

“You don’t have to always think that you need to prove a point if you think someone is judging you. Prove it by acting and sometimes that means not reacting”

She walked the ramp when she was 16 and was the youngest model at Fashion Week, amongst other models in their 20s who were struggling with what was called a ‘sin’. She invariably credits her courage to her upbringing in New York by open-minded and extremely supportive parents.

“If I was given a choice of right and wrong, they (her parents) knew what path I would take because that was my upbringing”.

She came to India in her forming years, yet made it a point to continue with her studies parallel, wherein she studied fashion merchandising.

“India chose me. I had no intention of seeing myself here over a decade later, my career has developed into something that it gave me a life of my own here.”

She believes how you don’t really see where work takes you and the life you make for yourself, her own transition from modeling to anchoring for a lifestyle show for TV.

“When the industry grows and you are a part of that growth, you find it hard to leave.”

She highlights her support system, making good friends, and the people that she has come to love and be loved, all of which makes India her home, but attributes her life-long attachment to New York.

But just like the fashion industry has its fair share of the dark side, so is everywhere else. So being authentic here is seen as being a ‘rebel’.

“A lot of people associate the word rebel by doing that is going against the norms. Technically, there are no norms.”

Instead, she observes that there are ‘moral standards’.

“Being a rebel, doesn’t mean fighting and fighting back and feeling like you need to prove yourself by demeaning your worth. Being a rebel means speaking up for what you believe in, and not letting anyone take that from you.”