Meet Aquib, Malaika's new disciple

Among the first-timers hitting the ramp this year at the Lakme Fashion Week was Usman Afzal's (Amrita Arora's beau) younger brother, Aquib.

The 21-year-old walked the ramp for designer Wendell Rodericks, as the showstopper. Aquib will shift base to India soon.

A chance encounter with Rodricks at an urban restaurant got Aquib the deal.

Says Amrita, "We were having dinner and Wendell came up and said, 'Why doesn't he model?' He kept insisting he do his show. Now, Aquib already has three offers and is super-excited about it. I'm very happy for him and we have convinced him to stay back."

Mentor Malaika

Aquib had butterflies in his stomach when Malaika Arora Khan volunteered to mentor him. Says Amrita, "His showstopper was well received. At the beginning, he was very nervous, so Usman made him talk to Malaika, who calmed him down."

Adds a proud Usman, "It was great to see Aquib burning the ramp. After the event, I spoke to my mom who was very pleased with the response Aquib got from everybody. He has been getting a lot of offers, but its nothing new for him. He is such a good-looking guy that he's been getting offers in England as well."

Real profession

What does Aquib do in London? "We have a couple of family businesses," says Usman. "One of which is the Ace Cricket Academy, where international cricketers work with us. Aquib looks after this institute.

Apart from everything else, he is a gem of a guy. When I had to walk the ramp with Amrita for Vikram Phadnis's show, in front of 6,000 people, I was extremely nervous.

But since Wendell is one of the biggest designers of this country, even Aquib was keen on walking in his outfit. It was good to see Aquib becoming hot property."

Eyes hurt: Usman

Does Aquib look like Usman? "He looks more like my mom; my features are like my dad's." Usman is recovering from a severe eye infection. "It's extremely painful and for sometime, I couldn't see through my left eye. I didn't take care so it got worse. But Amu's mother looked after me really well."