Aditi Govitrikar

Beautiful mother of two, Aditi Govitrikar.



Aditi Govitrikar is a model and actress from India who believes in healthy living and eating.... Aditi does not drink alcohol or smoke like so many other models. But despite not drinking alcohol she has no qualms about posing for liquor brands like MacDowell's. Govitrikar is also a vegetarian since birth.

"You are what you eat," says the beautiful Aditi, who also avoids deep fried foods, but loves to bake cookies and brownies for her two children. Govitrikar also likes onions and garlic and sometimes eats raw onions: "I love onions," she smiles and says she has to eat onions before walking the runway. Once Aditi was out for a show and had forgotten her raw onions but: "the people at the hotel were kind enough to provide me with one quickly."



And after eating all that onion and garlic it's not surprising that Aditi Govitrikar's favorite accessory is a toothbrush! So much so that the last thing she checks for in her make-up kit is her toothbrush - and not a lipstick or eyeshadow. "I don't talk to anyone in the morning without brushing my teeth," says the model. Like Carolina Pampita Ardohain, Aditi believes that water is essential and she also takes care to eat plenty of fruit and vegetables.



Aditi Govitrikar's healthy body is the result of years of practicing Yoga and spinning. She also reduces stress with meditation, which is a part of Yoga. Aditi launched a video series on Yoga featuring her and actor Mukul Dev performing the asanas. Aditi says that although she knew Yoga earlier on, she trained under the special guidance of Yogacharya Avneesh Tiwari for this special video series. Aditi feels that it is very important for Indians to incorporate Yoga in their lives. "I think it is a must for Indians as the West has already implemented Yoga in its life," says former Mrs. World.



Aditi Govitrikar is 5'7" and has a full-figured body. Aditi says, "The focus of fashion world is changing from extremely thin, anorexic looking bodies to fuller and healthier bodies. It is true especially in our context as Indian clothes don't look good on thin bodies."

Aditi says spinning exercises are good for the lower body and she also goes to a gym three times a week. "You know, I returned to modeling just three months after my daughter was born. I’m generally blessed. I don’t put on weight easily." But Govitrikar explains that she is not obsessed with fitness or weight issues like other models: "I’m not a fitness freak. It’s just that I like to keep in shape. I’ve a pair of jeans that I always like to fit in."



Aditi's modeling career has been like Liya Kebede's, unconventional. Govitrikar got married at the young age of 22 and had her first child two years later. In 2001 she participated in the Mrs. World competition held in Las Vegas, where Aditi beat 65 other contestants to win the title....but she did so under the name of Dr. Sarah Muffazal Lakdawala!



The reasons for this new name were two....Aditi Govitrikar is actually a qualified doctor! And while studying for her MD in Gynecology at Grant Medical College, Mumbai, Aditi began modeling and appearing in beauty contests. Govitrikar won the 1996 Gladrags Supermodel title and the Asian Super Model Contest in Singapore. At this time she fell in love with Muffazal Lakdawala who was also studying to be a doctor. Muffazal is a Muslim and his orthodox religion required conversion for Aditi to be married to him....hence she converted nominally and took the name Sarah. But Muffazal himself does not have an orthodox bone in his body as he encouraged and supported his wife in her chosen profession of modeling: "It's high time men support their wives rather than being jealous of their achievements."



Aditi Govitrikar embodies the trend of modeling after motherhood. She is a mother of two, an 8-year old daughter Kiara and 1-year-old son Zhiaan. "After all, stars and models are normal women. They too want to experience the warm companionship which a secure marriage brings. They too want to become loving mothers to their children like all other women......Today’s women are superwomen. They have proved that they can handle a busy career, marriage, home and motherhood with finesse. Also, the money one can earn in the glamour industries is big. No one wants to give up a career which can make one rich at a young age."

Aditi comes from a Konkanastha Brahmin family; she gets her blue-green eyes from her father, and has a younger sister and brother. Her sister Arzoo says, "Ours is a middle-class family which has always laid stress on studies." Aditi's parents had opposed her forays into modeling as well as her marriage to a Muslim, but eventually accepted that she would make decisions affecting her life. And after Aditi bucked the trend in her family by entering modeling and acting, Arzoo too has followed in her elder sibling's wake:



Aditi is good friends with fellow models Dipannita Sharma and Nethra Raghuraman. Recently the three were part of the reality show, Fear Factor (India), which was won by Nethra. "I don’t have any reality shows in my bag to do as of now but I’m so much in love with it after my experience with all the girls that I’m looking forward to walk the same path again. There’s so much fun, so much adrenaline rush that I can’t wait to relive it again," says Aditi.

Among her childhood fears that came alive on this show, also called Khatron Ke Khiladi, had to do with dogs: "When I was in class three, I tried to feed a puppy and it bit me. I’ve been terrified of dogs ever since."




Aditi has appeared in movies like Soch, Paheli, and 16 December, none of which did that well at the box office. She is now focused on making a career in TV but also has her medical education to fall back on for a career. Aditi Govitrikar has no regrets with her decisions, "In fact, the only regrets in life are the risks you don’t take."



Mark Brown of New Zealand holds the 2008 Johnnie Walker Classic trophy with (left to right) Mr Asif Adil the MD of Diageo India, actresses Aarti Chhabria, and Aditi Govitrikar at The DLF Golf and Country Club on March 2, 2008 in New Delhi, India. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images).