By Hemisha Morarji.
West Midlands-based model Deana Uppal was in high spirits this month, for she was crowned Miss India UK at a prestigiousLondonceremony.
The 22-year-old, originally from Birmingham, was announced the winner of the beauty pageant in the early hours of 5th February.
Miss Uppal, who beat off competition from 19 other finalists, was given the coveted title in front of an audience of more than 100 people on board, HSM President at Victoria Embankment.
The new crown will mean than the model will be representing British Asian girls at the worldwide competition inSurinamlater this year.
Speaking exclusively to Asian World newspaper, the Punjabi beauty expressed her joy in winning the title.
“I was very overwhelmed, shocked and extremely happy. I had been preparing for the finals for three months and finally all my hard work has paid off,” she said.
“I put all my effort into winning the competition and I have always believed that I would make a great MissIndiaas I am a very determined, hard working and a kind person. I believe I have all the qualities needed to be a good MissIndiaand represent theUK, but the hard part is showing all this to the judges in three hours.
“I believed in myself, but at the same time I saw how amazing the other contestants were so I was very nervous.”
The competition also featured a talent section, with several contestants opting to belly-dance, as well as to dance to Bollywood and Western songs.
For her performance, Miss Uppal chose to dance to Sheila Ke Jawani, a song from a 2010 film of the same name, which stars Katrina Kaif.
“Last year I was living in Mumbai for a year. While I was there, I went to dance classes and learned many routines to different Hindi songs,” Miss Uppal said.
“I used one of these routines in the talent section and danced to Sheila Ke Jawani. I am now preparing a traditional dance routine for the Miss India world finals inSurinamthis month.”
The finalists of the Miss India UK competition will feature in a Bollywood film inLondonthis summer.
The production, which currently has ‘Mirage’ as its working title, will be directed by London-based Sudipto Sarkar, who wanted a strong independent British Asian woman at the centre of it.
A former student at theUniversityofWolverhampton, Miss Uppal always dreamed of performing on the silver screen.
“Even from a young age I have always dreamed of being an actress. I started modelling when I was still at high school and I’ve worked hard to make my dreams become reality.”
Although she entered the competition to kick start her acting career, she has much bigger plans.
“I entered MissIndiabecause I felt it would help progress my career. But I also entered because it would put me on a higher platform to enable me to raise money for charity.”
Miss Uppal has already become a celebrity inIndia, where she appeared in a TV commercial with Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor.
About the starlet, she said, “Kareena is a very friendly and down to earth woman. I was slightly nervous first but she spoke to me very nicely and made me feel comfortable.”
The stunning clothes-horse has also worked with a number of other Bollywood stars.
“I have worked with Salman Khan for the launch of his film ‘Ready’.
“I also shot an item number for Parvin Dabbas and Preeti Jhangnani’s film Sahi Dhandhe Galat Bandhe, as well as working with Sanjay Kapoor for the launch of Mission Impossible 4 inIndia.”
Miss Uppal’s acting career inIndiabegan when she appeared as a leading girl in Mika Singh’s music video, as well as in the promotional video to one of Harbhajan Mann’s songs.
However, Mirage is not the only production she will be involved in.
“I also have a few other Bollywood projects in the pipeline which I will keep you guys updated with,” she revealed.
This move from local girl to potential Bollywood star is an extraordinary feat, considering the lack of modelling and film opportunities in theWest Midlands.
But the ambitious aspirant advises budding local models and actresses to be prepared for hard work.
“You have to be prepared to travel. Sometimes I find my self travelling up and down toLondonfour times in a week. Assignments can take you anywhere in the world and sometimes it can be very exhausting. Last month I was in five different countries in the space of four weeks.”
