A Model of Determination

They said she would not make it as a model. They said there was no place for her in the movie business. She has the beauty to make heads turn and the talent to impress any director. Yet her Indian roots gave her brown skin, which was not the shade of skin “they” were searching for.

What do “they” know?

Such is the rhetorical question that runs through Rashi Stephens’s mind all day long. To her, it is only a matter of time before she is laughing at whoever “they” are — laughing on her way to the big screen and all the way to the bank. The Seattle resident and New York native who is quickly establishing herself as a confident runway model and up-and-coming actress, Stephens is so convinced there is a place for her in entertainment, she cannot help but find inspiration by each naysayer who said she would never amount to anything.

“I am made for entertainment,” Stephens emphatically told Buzzine in an exclusive interview. “I cannot see myself doing anything else.”

The 23-year-old, who is completing her criminal justice degree at suburban Seattle’s Highline College, is keenly focused on pursuing her destiny and has the resumé to prove it. She is the reigning Miss March 2009 of Desiclub Swimsuit Calendar and 2008 Miss India North America. When she is not participating in beauty pageants or photo shoots for calendars, Stephens is walking down the catwalk. An up-and-coming runway model born in New York City, Stephens adorned some of the latest fashions as she walked down the runway in several shows across the nation, including the collections of Indian designers Satya Paul and Deepika Gehani in Pratham’s Runway Show, West Coast Tour.

Oh, and she also participated in an iPod advertising campaign.

As much as she has already done, Stephens continues to keep her eyes on the prize, hoping to represent her Indian heritage on the Western world’s largest stage: Hollywood. But why stop there? she asks. Stephens also has Bollywood in her eyes. In her pursuit to entertain audiences in Bollywood and Hollywood, Stephens will be heading to India this summer to attend the famed Anupam Kher Acting Academy which specializes in training actors for both mega-film industries.

“I would love to represent Indian women in Hollywood,” said Stephens, who is using her modeling career to springboard her into movies. “With the success of Slumdog Millionaire, now is the perfect time to break ground.”

It is a timing Stephens was not sure she would immediately see. She told Buzzine her ethnic background was a bit of a handicap when she started pursuing a career in entertainment several years ago.

“Lots of people rejected me because I was Indian,” Stephens humbly said. Yet the rejection did not stop her from passionately pursuing her dreams. Instead, she found motivation in each person who ever doubted her. With that motivation, Stephens hopes to strike while the iron is hot, hoping the success of her career will coincide with the growing role Indians are playing in Hollywood.

“Indians are quite accepted now,” she said. “People now understand there is more to us as people than just song-and-dance and good looks. We have a lot of talent. People are now going out to theaters to see what Indian actors can do.”

If Stephens continues on her path, she hopes it is only a matter of time before people are heading to movie theaters or performing arts theaters to adore her talents. As acting is her ultimate goal, Stephens knows she belongs in front of audiences because it is the place where she is completely comfortable.

“Acting is not always acting. It is about putting yourself in different situations,” she proclaimed. “[Acting] is a place I can truly be myself. It is the place I feel most comfortable.”

Soon enough, the world will be quite comfortable with Stephens. Not only is she pleasing upon the eyes, her combination of talent, spirituality and ambition could very well result in her establishing herself as a household name in the not-so-distant future. Stephens perfectly summed up the characteristics of her career track on a social networking site, stating: “I don’t believe luck has anything to do with my life. I believe pure hard work and faith will bring you success.”

Success already found Stephens in beauty pageants and catwalks. With several movie shoots already lined up for 2009, it may not be too long before success carries Stephens to the big screen.

Regardless of when she actually does get there, Stephens is already making the naysayers scratch their collective heads. All that is left for her to do now is make them eat their words for dinner.