Video: Meet Kashmir’s 6-year-old model who aspires to be ‘Miss World’

Srinagar: Alia Vats started showing an interest in dancing and acting when she was just two.  

Now six, she can be seen actively participating in local plays and shows in Kashmir.

Alia has even become the ‘official face’ of a Valley-based clothing brand and her modelling photographs are splashed all over Instagram.

“I developed an interest in acting and dancing when I was only two years old and of late I have started doing stage performances. I performed a solo Bollywood dance under Roshni Productions and another solo Haryanvi dance under the banner of Actors’ Creative Theatre (ACT). I have also acted in a couple of theatre acts that were staged at the Tagore Hall,” Alia, who hails from Indira Nagar area of the city, told The Kashmir Monitor.

She said she aspired to become Miss World one day and would also continue to pursue her passion for acting and modelling.
“I received a lot of support from my parents and people who saw my performances also encouraged me a lot. I will continue to act and model and it is my dream to be crowned Miss World one day,” she said.

Her performances have now captured the attention of a couple of Kashmir based clothing brands that engage models to promote their products.

Sehrish Khan, who owns the popular Kashmir based clothing brand ‘Riwayat By Saba’, said Alia was their ‘official face’.

“When I came across the reels of Alia, I was impressed a lot and now she is the official face of our ‘Riwayat By Saba’ brand. We deal with juttis, bridal wear, kids wear and phulkari suits and Alia shoots like a pro. She poses like a professional model and is very popular on Instagram. And she is probably the only six year model in Kashmir,” Sehrish told The Kashmir Monitor.

Interestingly, the birth of social media platforms like Instagram has given rise to a flurry of fashion start-ups in Kashmir. These start-ups are now hiring local Kashmiri fashion models to promote their clothing lines and Instagram is splashed with photographs and videos of such promotions.