Exclusively Bollywood

Bollywood Crown
The beauty pageant that will open the door to Bollywood for one lucky winner

Later this month fifteen British beauties will do battle to be crowned Miss Bollywood UK.

The first event of its kind, the winner will be whisked off to India to live the life of a Bollywood celebrity. A one year modelling contract, promotional events and the promise of appearing in a Bollywood film alongside one of the industry’s leading men is, for some, a once in a lifetime opportunity.

The man who promises to make the dream a reality is Zia Choudhury, the brains behind Miss Bollywood UK.

The Leicester-based model and actor came up with the idea back in the summer of 2006. Three years later and he is finalising the star-studded event which will be held in Birmingham at the end of August.

“It’s so exciting to know that the event is just around the corner”, admits Zia. “I know how much work, commitment and dedication has gone into planning Miss Bollywood UK so it’s exhilarating to know we’re nearly there.”

Such was the demand to be crowned Miss Bollywood UK, it took months for Zia and his team to whittle down hundreds of applications to the final fifteen.

So what’s the appeal for the lucky final group? In one word – Bollywood.

The Indian film industry eclipses Hollywood in the number of feature length films produced and released each year.

While not all become instant hits, the glamour and glitz that comes with Bollywood is hard to resist.

“The appeal in Bollywood is the song and dance, the glamour, the people; it is after all the largest film industry in the world,” says Zia.

“Suddenly we’ve got this cross over between Hollywood and Bollywood which adds to the authenticity of the Indian film industry. It’s an exciting time to be part of Bollywood.”

One British woman who is proving the step from beauty queen to Bollywood princess is possible is Lisa Lazarus.

The Welsh beauty, who scooped the Miss Universe UK title last year, has suddenly found herself on screen with Salman Khan in the soon-to-be-released period drama Veer.

The man who helped secure that role was Zia who acts as Lisa’s Bollywood manager.

His own involvement in the industry dates back to 2001 when he appeared as an extra in the star-studded film Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. Soon after, he landed himself a number of roles in subsequent Bollywood films.

Zia admits he’ll use his own experience of the industry to get the winner prepped ahead of her Bollywood encounter.

“The winner will get all the help and support I can offer to make sure they get every chance to make a name for themselves in Bollywood. It will be an exciting experience for them and one that they will not forget.”

With the final touches and last minute celebrities being lined up for next month’s show, Zia admits he already has his sights set on next years event and the possibility of taking the format abroad.

But before Zia has the chance to dream his dream, fifteen girls from England sit at home dreaming of when they’ll get the chance to become the UK’s latest Bollywood star. Roll on August 29^th.

Lisa's Bollywood Manager, Zia Choudhury of "Exclusively Bollywood" working closely with "UK Film Productions" has landed Lisa the Second Lead role opposite Salman Khan's film, "Veer".

Miss UK, Lisa Lazarus is all set for her acting debut role in the new Salman Khan movie titled Veer. After a long search for the right female lead, Lazarus arrived a few days in ago Mumbai to shoot the film, causing a media frenzy for pictures of the new actress. Lazarus and Khan had a photo opp for the film coming out sometime in 2009. The movie is a period drama with a powerful love story, in the vein of the American film, Gladiator. T Veer is reportedly a story idea Khan has been thinking about for upwards of twenty years and one which he at one time hoped to direct, although he is not doing so.

Miss England 2006, Eleanor Glynn paired with Mimoh in Aditya Raj kapoor’s-India Rocks

Eleanor’s Bollywood agent, Zia Choudhury of “Exclusively Bollywood” working closely with “UK Film Productions” is pleased to announce that Miss England will be introduced to the movie industry in a film called, India Rocks. The film is to be directed by Shammi Kapoor’s son Aditya Raj kapoor and produced by Shubir Mukerji under the Filmalaya Banner. Eleanor will play a prominent role and star opposite Mithun Chakravarthy’s son Mimoh and along side Riya Sen. The movie is scheduled to start shooting towards the middle of June in Mumbai and London.

This movie will be the first stepping-stone for Eleanor with talk of appearing in other movies before the end of the year. You can read further about the story line by clicking on the links: http://www.indiafm.com/news/2007/04/23/9301/index.html

British producer Sevy Ali will launch the up-and-coming new face of Bollywood cinema, Zak, in his next project, to begin shooting in 2007.

The yet-to-be-titled film will see the Leicester-based actor/model, Zak, cast as lead and rumours indicate some big Bollywood names are involved in the project. The film will be shot in the UK and on location in India. Sevy Ali previously produced the film White Noise and the 2005 thriller Nazar and has also produced many TV serials in the past 10 years. In a recent radio interview Zak said “I am very excited to be working with Sevy Ali whose work I have admired for many years”.

Sevy Ali is keen to introduce British Asian talent to Bollywood and believes Zak one of the most promising talents to emerge in the UK in recent years.