TOP 20: Hot bods to sizzle at LFW

As the latest season of Lakme Fashion Week goes underway, we take a look at the hottest models who will set the ramp on fire.

It's that time of the year when pretty faces and hot bods will sashay on a white ramp, making us weak in our knees. As Lakme Fashion Week, one of the most sought-after fashion events of the year is all set to go underway this weekend, we take a look at some of the hottest models who will walk the ramp this season.

The sexy mother of one, Alesia Raut started off way back in the late '90s and is still going strong.

Half Russian and half Indian, Raut has been groomed by two of the best names in the business -- Noyonika Chatterjee and Lubna Adam (the latter is one of the show directors at LFW).

One of the senior most models at LFW, Raut is a fixture at the fashion week for years now. Always chirpy, enthusiastic and yet extremely focussed, Alesia Raut is a vision on the ram and one model we'd give an eye and tooth to see each year.

Yes we love her! Who wouldn't?

Yet another model from Alesia Raut's generation, Candice Pinto shares her peer's enthusiasm and zest for life.

Having won the Gladrags Mega Model contest in 2000 and Miss Tourism International Worldwide 2002, Pinto has also been a regular at the LFW.

Backstage, the two girls are almost inseparable! Don't believe us? Watch this video!

Bangalore-based Dayanna Erappa got the attention she always wanted when she won the Femina Miss India Photogenic.

All of 21, Erappa was born in the lovely town of Coorg and went on to study at the Baldwin's Methodist College in Bangalore.

Erappa loves (and we mean loves) perfumes and finds Salman Khan irresistible! Then again, who doesn't?

She was all of 14 when walked the ramp for the first time in New Yotk for Manish Arora and JJ Valaya's in New York.

Since then there has been no looking back for Diva Dhawan who straddles two lives -- one in New York and the other in Mumbai.

In a recent interview, Diva told us she'd probably have been into PR had she not been a model. Now that she is though, she walks for practically all the big designers, participating in fashion and couture weeks across the country.

This is the first time that the Brazilian beauty who has been modelling for the last four years. Like many other firang models Gabriela Bertante has also made India their home.

Two years ago, she auditioned for the Hunt for the Kingfisher Swimsuit Calendar Girl without much success but she hopes to make the most of her time under the arclights at LFW.

Delhi-based model Kanika Dev wanted to be a model for as long as she remembers

Friendly and outgoing Kanika has walked for major designers at fashion weeks across the country and was one of the finalists at the Ford's Supermodel of the World contest.

Kanika's idea of a perfect date includes a tree house beside a beautiful lake on a full moon night. Think you can arrange that?

Kanishtha Dhankhar has come a long way from being an Elite model.

The 23-year-old has since then won Femina Miss India, modelled for various publications and walked the ramp for prominent designers.

A self-confessed travel freak, Kanishtha confesses watching sunrise on an isolated beach is one of the few things that give her a high.

Dhankhar has walked the ramp at Lakme Fashion Week, Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week, Couture Week for many designers including Tarun Tahiliani, Manish Arora, Sabyasachi Mukherjee among others.

Kavita Kharayat is one of the few models we know of who has a huge collection of saris and also knows how to drape them!

As it happens, Kavita is also a marathoner and does power yoga to stay fit and credits lunges, squats and sumo squats for those sexy legs.

Femina Miss India participant Krithika Babu has walked the Lakme Fashion Week ramp back in 2009 but had to audition all over again to participate in the latest season.

21-year-old Krithika comes from Bangalore where she studied at Mount Carmel College, counts Jim Carrey as her favourite actor and thinks living in before marrying is a good idea!

We caught up with her at the auditions where she waited in anticipation for the judges to announce her name.

They did and here she is now!

When she announced to her family that she wanted to be a model, Kirti Sanon kinda scandalised her dad who had his apprehensions.

Soon enough though he came around and let her follow her dreams under the sole condition that she should complete her graduation.

Kirti Sanon comes from New Delhi and having been a bright student at the Delhi Public School is now pursuing her B Tech.

For the two-odd years that she's modelled, Kriti has been featured in a handful of commercials and has also walked the ramp for some of the top designers at the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week.

Miss Sexy Legs at Femina Miss India in 2008, Lekha Raman has also been a runner up at Ford Supermodel of the World Contest in 2009.

The model has since then come a long way having walked for Tarun Tahilani, Manish Arora, Anita Dongre, Rajesh Pratap Singh, Rocky S and Neeta Lulla among others

Manasvi Mamgai has been a regular at Lakme Fashion Week for a while now. The former Miss India had always dreamt of being one since she was six -- when she saw Aishwarya Rai being crowned Miss World.

Soon after, the Delhi girl made Mumbai her home so she could concentrate on her modelling assignments.

Besides having walked the ramp for many of the top designers, Manavsi has also been the face of the fairness cream Fair and Lovely. (Click here to watch the ad)

Mimi Blix is a Kingfisher swimsuit model having appeared in at least two editions of the sexy calendar.

Atul Kasbekar who has shot the calendar for as long as it exists, describes Mimi is a '6ft Ugandan-Norwegian goddess' an observation we cannot help but agree with.

For some reason thought we haven't seen as much of this sexy goddess as we wanted to and we're certainly glad that she'll be seen on the ramp this season.

Mitali Rannorey is one among the many models who owe their careers to Prasad Bidappa.

The 20-something hottie has walked for Rajesh Pratap Singh, Rohit Bal as well as many other top designers at Lakme Fashion Week besides having done a handful of campaigns for Manoviraj Khosla, Sanchitaand Calantha among others.

The sexy Kingfisher swimsuit calendar girl is half Dutch and half Indian and couldn't give two hoots about Bollywood.

Over the years, besides having walked for practically every top designer in the country, Tamara Moss has done plenty of cover shoots for prominent fashion magazines too.

With a body to kill for and an attitude to match Tamara Moss is one of the few models we're actually looking forward to meet this season!

She was the first runners-up for the I Am She contest and has walked the LFW ramp earlier too. Reha Sukheja is however still a student studying economics at Fergusson College in Pune.

Reha who has lived in at least four cities in India and having changed as many schools started quite by chance as she posed for a designer having known little or nothing about the camera and modelling.

It was during her stint at the I am She pageant that Reha was groomed to become the bombshell that she is today!

This hottie was part of Channel V's reality show Get Gorgeous but was eliminated. Later, she went on to walk the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week ramp back in 2008 and has been making her presence felt at the LFW too.

From being a lanky burkha clad girl growing up in the conservative Middle East, Sanea Sheikh has made her presence felt in ramps across the country.

Two seasons ago especially, Sanea Shaikh walked for quite a few designers but went mysteriously missing during the last season even as she walked for the India International Jewellery Week.

This season though she is back and we're waiting for her more eagerly than ever.

Sister of the Bollywood starlet Urvashi Sharma, Sucheta we'd like to believe is the sexier of the two.

After being an Elite model back in 2004, Sucheta Sharma has walked the ramps for some of the top designers within the country as well as overseas.

Some of you may remember her from that television show Remix. Surelee Joseph has since then seemed to have done more fashion shows than television shows and boy are we glad about it!

Surelee has graduated in English Literature from the University of Mumbai and was one of the eight girls to have been selected to walk the ramp in during Lakme Fashion Week's Autumn/Winter season back in 2009 and hasn't looked back ever since.

For a tomboy that she confesses to be, Preeti Dhata does a fantastic job modelling feminine silhouettes.

The sexy Mumbai-based hottie has been a model for a little over four years now and has been walking the LFW ramp for almost as many.

In a conversation about a year ago, Preeti confessed to being a Pink Floyd fan who swears by Coen Brothers and reads Richard Dawkins. C'mon now how can you NOT love this girl!