HAVING her long locks unceremoniously chopped off turned out to be a blessing in disguise for MediaCorp actress Dawn Yeoh.

If she hadn't called him in tears four years ago, Mr Takashi Toba would not have thought about becoming her manager.

And he would not have turned out to be the man behind the rising 21-year-old star.

In 2004, the then-freelance model rang Mr Toba, the director of Future Stage Artists UK Asia, an artiste management agency in England, crying.

Dawn was upset because a Japanese hairdresser had, during a hair show, chopped off her waist-length hair - without any warning - to a boyish crop.

An incensed Mr Toba called the hairdresser to blast him.

Mr Toba, 38, recalled: 'He was very rude, saying models were rubbish.

'That angered me and I told him I was (Dawn's) manager even though we didn't have a contract.'

The encounter got Mr Toba seriously thinking about managing Dawn.

After all, ever since they first met at The New Paper New Face competition in 2003 (she was a finalist and he was the stage coordinator), Dawn had been treating Mr Toba as her mentor.

She was at a singing audition where he was one of the judges, and she used to learn dancing at a now-defunct recording studio he co-owned.

Even though they kept in touch mainly via e-mail - Mr Toba, a Singapore permanent resident, spent a lot of time in London - Dawn would keep him updated on her career.

She said: 'Even back then, I saw him as a mentor, and I could seek advice from him about my career.'

So naturally, when he returned to Singapore in 2005 to set up a branch office of Future Stage, Mr Toba signed Dawn as his first artiste.

It was the first time Mr Toba was managing a Singapore artiste.

Over the years, the pair have grown as close as family.

Mr Toba said: 'She's like a sister. If somebody pokes fun at her, I must protect her.'

Under his tutelage, Dawn is today one of MediaCorp's much-touted 'seven princesses'.

But their relationship isn't all a bed of roses.

Mr Toba said: 'As her manager, I'm strict and I scold her sometimes about how she should carry herself as an artiste.'

But minor misunderstandings aside, Dawn is grateful for Mr Toba's guidance.

'I've learnt a lot from him - from camera and lighting work to people skills,' she said.

One way that Mr Toba helps her hone her acting skills is to record video footage and snap photographs of her when she is filming, so that she can review her own performance later.

But Mr Toba isn't always a fierce mentor.

He shows a softer side towards her too.

Like how he would take her out for ice-cream - she especially loves cookies and cream - to cheer her up when she's down.

The pair share a common dream - for Dawn to become a regional star.

Mr Toba said: 'Without her own hard work, she would not have achieved what she did today - whether I manage her or not.'

This article was first published in The New Paper on Mar 8, 2008.