AMITABH BACHCHAN - ‘HOTTEST VEGETARIAN ALIVE’
(20 October 2004)

Bollywood hero Amitabh Bachchan, whose recent releases Baghban, Deewar, Kyun! Ho Gaya Na, Dev and Lakshya have added to his remarkable string of more than 150 films, and American film and TV star Alicia Silverstone have been voted the winners in People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ (PETA) “Hottest Vegetarian Alive” online poll. For Amitabh – known to his legions of adoring fans as the “Big B” – this marks the third straight crowning in the contest’s three-year history.

Amitabh, now 62, continues to rule the Indian film industry. Fellow actor and vegetarian Shahid Kapoor, who recently burst onto the national scene with his debut film Ishq Vishq, gave Amitabh a run for his money, as did cricketer Anil Kumble. Amitabh also received international praise recently for his role in founding the Asian Conservation Awareness Programme, which is dedicated to protecting endangered wildlife and their habitats.

With more than 50,000 visitors casting their votes, Silverstone, a blonde beauty and perennial favourite, captured her title, marking the first time that an international celebrity has won, beating out such formidable competitors as Yana Gupta (last year’s winner), Pamela Anderson and Mandira Bedi.

Long-time PETA pal Alicia Silverstone, best known for her starring roles in the films Clueless and Batman & Robin, as well as the TV series Miss Match and Braceface, made a “debut” of a different sort in India last year: Thousands of postcards featuring her in a curve-hugging pleather “Batgirl” suit – like the one she wore in Batman & Robin – along with a plea not to support the cruel leather trade, were placed in the finest restaurants and cafés in Delhi and Mumbai by PETA India staffers.

Other top finishers in this year’s poll included the Evergreen Dev Anand, Bond man Pierce Brosnan and Lord of the Rings star Orlando Bloom in the men’s category and Amrita Rao, Victoria Beckham and Avanti Birla in the women’s. Simpoo, Channel [V]’s animated mascot, finished in the top five. Super-hot model Yana Gupta, from whom Silverstone inherits the crown, also sizzled in a PETA ad when she posed as a mermaid next to the tagline “Fish Are Friends, Not Food”.

“From Bollywood to Hollywood and all places in between, both famous and not-so-famous people are realizing that the best thing they can do for the animals – and themselves – is to adopt a healthy, humane and delicious vegetarian diet”, says PETA India Chief Functionary Anuradha Sawhney.