Ramp shows have virtually dried up and shoots are limited in the city because of the pandemic, posing livelihood problems for many struggling models.

Since shooting resumed in June, a trickle of work came calling. But the pie is mostly reserved for reasonably established models. The festive season is the most lucrative time for models. But this year, the Covid-19 crisis reduced both the number and scale of the Puja campaigns, limiting the opportunities of work.

Many of the struggling models are from outside Calcutta, who shifted to the city for work. Not all of them could bag product endorsements and ramp shows used to be their main source of income.

For starters, modelling is a low-paying job. With shows coming to a halt because of the distancing curbs, many of them were forced to leave the city as they could no longer pay rents and bills.

Some of them have been looking to switch careers but opportunities are few and far between.

Prachi Pandey, 24, a professional model, had been living in Calcutta for the past five years. In the run-up to the Pujas last year, Pandey was working “over 12 hours” every day. Beside ramp shows for festive collections, there were shoots for print and outdoor advertising campaigns for half a dozen brands. That included a popular fashion brand that has over 300 stores in the country.

For the past two months, she has had only a couple of contracts — with a jeweller and a baby-oil maker, both in Patna.

In June, she left her rented one-BHK accommodation in Lake Town and returned home to Patna. She had to keep paying the rent of around Rs 8,000 even during her absence. “But other expenses in Calcutta are on the higher side. In hindsight, it was the right decision because I at least got some work,” Pandey said.

She returned to Calcutta in early October but is still to find work. Not every other aspiring model had a fall-back option like Pandey.

On September 6, a 24-year-old woman was found hanging from the ceiling of a rented accommodation in Jadavpur. Police identified her as Bithi Mondal, 24, a struggling model who had shifted to Calcutta from South 24-Parganas. “She worked with a couple of event management companies. She was depressed as her work was not going well because of the Covid-19 situation,” an officer of Jadavpur police station had said, quoting Mondal’s sister.

Most struggling models work through event management companies and model coordinators, who deal with brands and give them a commission. “There is hardly any event or product launches. We are struggling to stay afloat. How can we get work for models?” one of the partners of an event management firm in Calcutta asked.

Seasoned models, too, have been finding things difficult. Koyel Nath Goswami, who has worked for leading jewellery and retail chains, was busy with “at least a dozen projects” in the run-up to the Pujas last year.

This year, there were “four-five projects, mostly shoots”.

“The pay is approximately 30 per cent less than last year. Delayed payments have become the new normal. The absence of ramp shows is hurting,” said Goswami, who has been a ramp veteran, walking for celebrity designers and a part of big-ticket “fashion weeks”.

Nick Rampal, another top model in Calcutta, used to charge “around Rs 40,000 for one shoot”.

For the past two months, he has been arranging the entire shoot in that budget. “That includes everything, from photographers and stylists to myself,” Rampal said.

Things had come to standstill in the first two months of the lockdown, a leading stylist in Calcutta said. “I am back to work. But the work is 60 per cent of what it used to be.”

The Film Federation of India has launched an online talent hunt for models and aspiring actors to extend a helping hand in these testing times. “Search for Stars” is being held in 13 languages across the country. Winners will have their profiles sent to leading production houses, according to organisers.

“On behalf of the Film Federation of India, we believe in standing by the entertainment fraternity in these difficult times. Aspiring models and actors have a great platform in this,” Firdausul Hasan, president of the federation, said.