Rekha has been one. So has Aishwarya Rai. And Feroze Gujral, Shyamolie Varma, Lisa Ray, Yana Gupta, Shivani Kapur and Katrina Kaif. Raima Sen now joins this league as the new face of Lakme.

‘‘I’m really happy,’’ says the 25-year-old Sen. ‘‘It’s quite surprising as I’m not known as a glamorous actress. It’s nice that such a prestigious company has chosen me to be their face.’’


Anil Chopra, vice-president Lakme Lever, is smitten by the Bengali actress. ‘‘It all happened over lunch at the office. One of our brand managers had seen Parineeta the night before and came in gushing about Raima. We decided to meet her. I thought the meeting would last 15 minutes, but we were so enchanted by her that she was with us for over an hour,’’ he says. ‘‘Raima is fresh, she’s beautiful and she’ll do wonders for us.’’

Sen has just come into her own as an actress. Her performance in Rituparno Ghosh’s Chokher Bali won her acclaim; it was said that she even stole the thunder from Aishwarya Rai. Sen followed it up with another cracker in Parineeta and is suddenly being talked about for the right reasons.

‘‘She’s beautiful in an unusual way,’’ says Lakme’s make-up artist Cory Walia, who shot with her recently for the company’s new hair product. ‘‘She’s soft, very Indian looking and has fabulous skin. And she’s a delight to work w