For Immediate Release:
31 July 2002
Contact:
Anuradha Sawhney (O) 98201 22602,
Mumbai — Legendary film hero Amitabh Bachchan and Bollywood newcomer-sensation Esha Deol have won PETA India’s 2002 Hottest Vegetarian Alive Contest, narrowly edging out a variety of vegetarian celebrities including supermodels Yana Gupta and Christy Turlington; Esha’s glamourous mother, Hema Malini; Gladiator star Joaquin Phoenix; top model John Abraham; Southern heartthrob Madavan; blonde bombshell Pamela Anderson; and Spiderman’s Tobey Maguire and actor Natalie Portman, who won the contest in the US earlier this year. More than 15,000 voters participated in the PETAIndia.com poll over the past two months.
Amitabh, whose more than 70 films, many as a rebellious, formidable character, lays to rest the notion that there’s anything ‘manly’ about eating meat. The tall, lean actor, whose classics include Zanjeer and Deewar, has too much respect for himself to poison his body with the fat, cholesterol and pathogens found in animal flesh.
Petite and beautiful, Esha, who is also an accomplished classical dancer, made her screen debut in Koi Mere Dil Se Pooche last year. Being the eldest daughter of the renowned Hema Malini, she didn’t have to stray far from the nest to find a role model for her smart food choices.
Why do so many Bollywood hotties veg out? For the animals (cows, chickens and buffaloes suffer horribly at the hands of the meat industry), for the environment (the meat trade is the single greatest polluter on the planet) and for their health (meaty diets promote cancer, heart disease and diabetes, all of which plague Indians)—not to mention that vegetarians stay slim much more easily than meat-eaters.
‘More and more celebrities are realising the benefits of a healthy and compassionate vegetarian diet’, says PETA India’s Chief Functionary, Anuradha Sawhney. ‘Amitabh and Esha, as well as millions of other people all over the world, are saying, “No!” to foods that cost animals their lives and, “Yes!” to delicious, life-sustaining veggie alternatives.’
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