Danielle Canute crowned ‘India’s Next Top Model’

Danielle Canute has been named the winner of the first season of reality TV show India’s Next Top Model.

The 18-year-old aspiring model from Mumbai was the youngest contestant on the show and saw off competition from Gloria Tep and Rushali Rai to win the title.

Calling her journey a “roller-coaster” ride, Canute said she never expected to be named the winner of the show but is happy that her hard work paid off.

“I had never modelled before the show. I never thought I would make it to the first round, so for me winning the competition is a dream come true,” Canute said.

The St Xavier’s College student was extremely shy in the beginning of the show. She opened up and gradually won several competitions during the course of the MTV show, which was hosted by model and actress Lisa Haydon.

“I understood that there is no point racking my brain out and thinking too much about the posing. It should come naturally and I realised that eventually. I learnt a lot about modelling and thanks to this show I know now that I love it and I am going to pursue it very seriously,” she said.

When asked who her biggest competition was on the show, Canute said, “It has to be Gloria. But I am going to miss her a lot as she was my roommate and she really behaved like my mother and took care of me.”

As a winner, she will receive a one-year contract with Bling talent management agency, a spread in Grazia magazine and will be the online face for Tresseme India for a year.

Canute, who idolises Haydon and British supermodel Cara Delevingne, said she is not thinking about joining films like most models.

“I just want to focus on my modelling career and try to make a name for myself like my idols.”

India’s Next Top Model is based on the Tyra Banks-created 2003 American reality television series, America’s Next Top Model.

The show was judged by Haydon and fashion photographer Dabboo Ratnani, and mentored by VJ and actress Anusha Dandekar.