A model with a difference

Noble. Courtesy:Anjan's

Embarking on his modeling career in 1991 through fashion shows, Noble was soon seen in TV commercials of Sprite, HRC tea, Azad ballpoint pen, Pakiza Saree and Keya beauty soap. His impressive looks and natural gestures immediately catapulted him to popularity. According to Noble, his breakthrough performance was in the ad of Azad ballpoint pen where he was paired with popular actress Tania Ahmed.

Noble literally reigned in the ad media for a decade, winning the best male model award till 1995. Interestingly, in a 12-year-long modeling career, Noble has not worked in over two or three commercials a year. Acting in about 20 to 25 commercials so far, he shares, "It is not only because I am selective but also I have a full time job in a multinational company which earns me the bread and butter for my family."

After he rose to fame, offers have often come his way to perform in music videos, films and television plays, most of which he could not accept. However, when famed director Atiqul Haque Chowdhury asked him to act in the first television play based on secret agent Masud Rana made under private productions, he could not refuse.

For Noble it was not very easy to act in plays at first, but he immersed himself in the medium. As he says, "I used to love reading the stories of Masud Rana. I gave it a try for another reason: it was being produced by talented director Atiqul Haque Chowdhury. BTV could not provide the requisite technical support for the play, but in the end it was a good production."

Noble does not have any role model that he "would like to follow blindly." Still there are popular figures like Al Pacino, Tom Cruise and Aamir Khan "whose expressions and body language" fascinate him. "I found different people attractive in different areas. I always watch commercials made around the world and try to adopt the gestures and styles that intrigue me," he says.

According to Noble, "The notion that male models rarely attain the level of popularity as their female counterparts is changing now as more boys are getting involved with the industry." He is optimistic about the total scene of the ad industry because professionalism and healthy competition are increasing. In Bangladesh, Noble admires Shimul for his "expressiveness", besides Riaz and Ferdous.

Noble considers ramp modeling a better bet than TV commercials, because "the remuneration the TV models receive is not satisfactory."

On employing foreign models in TV ads of local products, Noble says, "Despite much criticism, I would say that we could not avoid employing them because they were far more professional than the local ones. Working with them has always been less expensive and less hazardous compared to local models."

Noble concludes with an emphasis on the important criteria for a model: "An aspiring model must have an impressive personality and charisma. He/she must be physically and psychologically competent to be able to work in any kind of circumstances."