Preeti Desai
Encyclopedia
Preeti Desai is a Indian Actress who was Miss Great Britain
2006. A British Indian
, she made history by becoming the first British woman of Indian origin to ever win the title. She speaks English, Gujarati
and Hindi
and is based in London
, England
and Mumbai
, India
.
, North Yorkshire
England
. The daughter of Jitendra and Hemlata who have a pyrotechnics
company called G2 Fireworks. She has a younger sister Anjlee who is a singer/songwriter. She attended St Augustine Roman Catholic primary school in Coulby Newham
, then Nunthorpe Secondary School
. After leaving school she did a three-year course in hair and beauty therapy at Middlesbrough College
. After graduating as a fully qualified beauty therapist, Desai worked in and managed a salon for a number of years.
over allegations of impropriety, Desai, who had originally placed fifth in the Miss Great Britain competition was voted the winner by the country. was elected Miss Great Britain 2006 by the British public in a poll of readers of The Sun newspaper, and moved to London. During the time she had the title Miss Great Britain she used her popularity to help charity organisations like Carers Week.
in May 2007, she went on to be a professional fashion model, and walked for fashion week
s, couture weeks and top designers. She has been on the covers of Cosmopolitan
, L’Officiel, Grazia
, and G2.
Desai was on both the cover and as February and September model in the Kingfisher Swimsuit Special Calendar 2008, and was also invited by Vijay Mallya
as ambassador of Kingfisher to the Formula 1 world tour in 2008. She has done television commercials and print ads for brands like Cadbury plc, LG Corp., Hero Honda
, Citibank
and Nokia
.
In October 2009 she was announced as the new face of the retail apparel company Provogue
, along with Indian actor Hrithik Roshan
. She shoots with Italian designer Leonardo Ferragamo of Salvatore Ferragamo Italia S.p.A.
for L'Officiel magazine, and she walked for fashion designer Christopher Kane
in Fashion Week March 2010.
which released on April 2011. It is directed by Raj Nidimoru and DK Krishna, and is produced by Balaji Films Ekta Kappor. Desai plays the role of the female protagonist Sharmili, opposite Indian-American actor Sendhil Ramamurthy
. The film is a thriller drama, set in contemporary Mumbai, with three separate but interrelated storylines, of which one is in English and two in Hindi.
Shor in the City
was officially selected for the Pusan International Film Festival
and the Dubai International Film Festival
in 2010. The film won the Best Director Award at MIAAC in New York.
Miss Great Britain
Miss Great Britain is a female beauty contest currently held in London. Between 1956 and 1989, it was held in the seaside resort of Morecambe. It is one of the oldest of its kind in the country, with the first edition held in 1945...
2006. A British Indian
British Indian
The term British Indian refers to citizens of the United Kingdom whose ancestral roots lie in India. This includes people born in the UK who are of Indian descent, and Indian-born people who have migrated to the UK...
, she made history by becoming the first British woman of Indian origin to ever win the title. She speaks English, Gujarati
Gujarati language
Gujarati is an Indo-Aryan language, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. It is derived from a language called Old Gujarati which is the ancestor language of the modern Gujarati and Rajasthani languages...
and Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
and is based in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
Early life and background
Preeti Desai was born in MiddlesbroughMiddlesbrough
Middlesbrough is a large town situated on the south bank of the River Tees in north east England, that sits within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire...
, North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The daughter of Jitendra and Hemlata who have a pyrotechnics
Pyrotechnics
Pyrotechnics is the science of using materials capable of undergoing self-contained and self-sustained exothermic chemical reactions for the production of heat, light, gas, smoke and/or sound...
company called G2 Fireworks. She has a younger sister Anjlee who is a singer/songwriter. She attended St Augustine Roman Catholic primary school in Coulby Newham
Coulby Newham
Coulby Newham is a large housing estate in the borough of Middlesbrough and the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England, with a resident population of 10,700....
, then Nunthorpe Secondary School
Nunthorpe School
Nunthorpe School is a Specialist Science, Business and Enterprise Secondary School in Nunthorpe, an area of south east Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England...
. After leaving school she did a three-year course in hair and beauty therapy at Middlesbrough College
Middlesbrough College
Middlesbrough College, located on one campus at Middlehaven, Middlesbrough, England, in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, is the largest college in the Tees Valley.-Admissions:...
. After graduating as a fully qualified beauty therapist, Desai worked in and managed a salon for a number of years.
Career
Following the dismissal of the original winner Danielle LloydDanielle Lloyd
Danielle Lloyd is an English glamour model. The former Miss England 2004 and Miss Great Britain 2006, she first rose to prominence when she was stripped of her Miss Great Britain 2006 title after posing for nude pictures featured in the December 2006 edition of Playboy magazine and her alleged...
over allegations of impropriety, Desai, who had originally placed fifth in the Miss Great Britain competition was voted the winner by the country. was elected Miss Great Britain 2006 by the British public in a poll of readers of The Sun newspaper, and moved to London. During the time she had the title Miss Great Britain she used her popularity to help charity organisations like Carers Week.
Modelling
After Desai passed on the Miss Great Britain title to Gemma GarrettGemma Garrett
Gemma Dawn Garrett is a former holder of the titles Miss Great Britain and Miss Belfast. She is also the official face of the Formula One British Grand Prix at Silverstone....
in May 2007, she went on to be a professional fashion model, and walked for fashion week
Fashion Week
A fashion week is a fashion industry event, lasting approximately one week, which allows fashion designers, brands or "houses" to display their latest collections in runway shows and buyers and the media to take a look at the latest trends. Most importantly, these events let the industry know...
s, couture weeks and top designers. She has been on the covers of Cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan (magazine)
Cosmopolitan is an international magazine for women. It was first published in 1886 in the United States as a family magazine, was later transformed into a literary magazine and eventually became a women's magazine in the late 1960s...
, L’Officiel, Grazia
Grazia
Grazia is an Italian weekly women's fashion and celebrity gossip magazine, with international editions printed in France, Serbia, Australia, United Kingdom, Greece, Portugal, Japan, the Netherlands, India, Bulgaria and Germany....
, and G2.
Desai was on both the cover and as February and September model in the Kingfisher Swimsuit Special Calendar 2008, and was also invited by Vijay Mallya
Vijay Mallya
Vijay Mallya is an Indian liquor and airline baron. The son of industrialist Vittal Mallya, he is the chairman of the United Breweries Group and Kingfisher Airlines. His United Spirits is world's second largest liquor maker, by volume...
as ambassador of Kingfisher to the Formula 1 world tour in 2008. She has done television commercials and print ads for brands like Cadbury plc, LG Corp., Hero Honda
Hero Honda
Hero MotoCorp formerly Hero Honda is a motorcycle and scooter manufacturer based in India. Hero Honda started in 1984 as a joint venture between Hero Cycles of India and Honda of Japan. The company is the largest two wheeler manufacturer in India...
, Citibank
Citibank
Citibank, a major international bank, is the consumer banking arm of financial services giant Citigroup. Citibank was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, later First National City Bank of New York...
and Nokia
Nokia
Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...
.
In October 2009 she was announced as the new face of the retail apparel company Provogue
Provogue
Provogue is a Mumbai based Indian company incorporated on November 11, 1997 as Acme Clothing Private Limited. The brand Provogue was launched in March 1998 and is currently one of the biggest retail apparel brands in India based in based Mumbai...
, along with Indian actor Hrithik Roshan
Hrithik Roshan
Hrithik Roshan is an Indian actor who appears in Bollywood films.After having appeared in films as a child actor in the 1980s, Roshan made his film debut in a leading role in Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai for which Roshan earned his Filmfare Awards for Best Actor and Best Male Debut...
. She shoots with Italian designer Leonardo Ferragamo of Salvatore Ferragamo Italia S.p.A.
Salvatore Ferragamo Italia S.p.A.
Salvatore Ferragamo Italia S.p.A. is an Italian luxury goods company, with headquarters in Florence, specializing in shoes, leather goods, and ready-to-wear for men and women. It is the parent company of the Ferragamo Group...
for L'Officiel magazine, and she walked for fashion designer Christopher Kane
Christopher Kane
-Biography:Kane was born as the youngest of five children in Newarthill, near Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, to an engineer and draughtsman and housewife mother....
in Fashion Week March 2010.
Film work
Desai made her film debut in a feature film Shor in the CityShor in the City
Shor in the City is a 2011 Hindi film directed by Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K. starring Tusshar Kapoor, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Preeti Desai, Nikhil Dwivedi, Pitobash Tripathy, Sundeep Kishan, Girija Oak, Radhika Apte and Amit Mistry in the lead roles. The background score of the film was composed by...
which released on April 2011. It is directed by Raj Nidimoru and DK Krishna, and is produced by Balaji Films Ekta Kappor. Desai plays the role of the female protagonist Sharmili, opposite Indian-American actor Sendhil Ramamurthy
Sendhil Ramamurthy
Sendhil Ramamurthy is an American actor. He is best known for the role as geneticist Mohinder Suresh in the NBC drama Heroes.-Personal life:...
. The film is a thriller drama, set in contemporary Mumbai, with three separate but interrelated storylines, of which one is in English and two in Hindi.
Shor in the City
Shor in the City
Shor in the City is a 2011 Hindi film directed by Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K. starring Tusshar Kapoor, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Preeti Desai, Nikhil Dwivedi, Pitobash Tripathy, Sundeep Kishan, Girija Oak, Radhika Apte and Amit Mistry in the lead roles. The background score of the film was composed by...
was officially selected for the Pusan International Film Festival
Pusan International Film Festival
Busan International Film Festival , held annually in Haeundae-gu, Busan , South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia...
and the Dubai International Film Festival
Dubai International Film Festival
The Dubai International Film Festival is an international film festival based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Launched in 2004, it aims to foster the growth of filmmaking in the Arab world.-Overview:...
in 2010. The film won the Best Director Award at MIAAC in New York.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | "Shor in the City Shor in the City Shor in the City is a 2011 Hindi film directed by Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K. starring Tusshar Kapoor, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Preeti Desai, Nikhil Dwivedi, Pitobash Tripathy, Sundeep Kishan, Girija Oak, Radhika Apte and Amit Mistry in the lead roles. The background score of the film was composed by... " |
Shalmili | won the Best Director Award at MIAAC in New York |
| 2012 | "Rock The Shaadi Rock The Shaadi Rock The Shaadi is an upcoming Bollywood Zombie based comedy film directed by Navdeep Singh, and starring Genelia and Abhay Deol in the lead roles. It is produced by Balaji Telefilms and iRock Films .... " |
Jeevan | Filmimg |