Blending passion with fashion

Looks, intelligence, business acumen and acting prowess, getting to know Chennamaneni Sridhar Rao, one discovers his qualities in that order.

This city-based model shot to fame with Aditya Birla Group's 60-second television commercial in which he portrayed the well-built young Indian man who leaps and zips across continents, defying gravity, carrying the Aditya Birla flag.

He also runs his own fashion store -- Forever 21 Adam and Eve -- in Hyderabad.

Sridhar Rao opened the 'Forever 21' store in October 2003, which offers basics, high fashion and designer stuff.

This model-turned-entrepreneur picks up the latest fashion wear for his stores from Bangkok, London and Hong Kong. He has a number of plans lined up for expanding his reach through Forever 21.

"I plan to open a coffee pub on the first floor of Forever 21 in another two months. I am also planning to open a Forever 21 outlet in Vizag and two more in Hyderabad, one each at Himayatnagar and Banjara Hills. These stores will be opened by 2005," he says.

A commerce graduate from Loyola College in Secunderabad and an MBA from Intech IBM in Bangalore with specialisation in marketing and finance, Sridhar Rao began his modelling career in 2000.

He underwent a four-month training under Bangalore-based fashion guru Prasad Bidappa. After a couple of modelling assignments, he made his way into the prestigious 'Graviera Mr India' pageant in which he was adjudged 'Mr Physic', 'Best Dressed Male', and 'Best South Indian'. Sridhar Rao stood seventh in the contest.

The Aditya Birla television commercial was a turning point in his career, and from then on there was no looking back for him.

"From modelling to entrepreneurship, I have come a long way," says this hunky six-footer, who has nearly 100 print and television commercials to his credit including Louis Phillipe, Pantaloons, Apnaloan.com, Kingfisher, IBM, Wipro, Infosys, Airtel, Trigger Jeans, Mc Dowells, Acqua mineral water and Romanova liquor brand among other prestigious assignments.

But why did he choose to foray into entrepreneurship when his modelling career was at the helm?

"I was very much interested in sporting trendy clothes since my college days. I started experimenting with various fashion wear in modelling. People are very particular about the way they should dress, but don't have the right approach on what to wear. So I thought of venturing into the fashion outfits business to offer the latest trendy and fashion wear at affordable prices," says Sridhar Rao.

In addition to his four-year modelling career, burgeoning fitness and garments business, Sridhar Rao has also tried his hand in the tinsel world.

He played the anti-hero in the runaway Telugu hit Satyam starring Sumanth in 2004. He is now all set to make his debut as the hero in a socio-fantasy Telugu movie titled Jaya Balaji.

"The movie is slated for release in another 4-5 months. Modelling is my lifeblood and so I am not in a hurry to grab all the movie offers that come my way. Though I have been getting a lot of offers from Tollywood, I am choosy about my films," says Sridhar Rao.