Upen Patel

Upen Patel (born 16 August 1981) is a British Indian male model and Bollywood film actor.

Career

Early work

After winning Zee TV's supermodel hunt in 2002, Patel began modelling for Hugo Boss, Paul Smith and Zegna. He started his acting career with singer/song writer Romey Gill's "Sadeyan paran to sikhi udna."

He received the MTV India Most Stylish Male Award 2 years in a row. He won F awards as India's number one Supermodel, which led to many more endorsements including Tuscan Verve, Hugo Boss, Tommy Hilfiger, Provogue and D'damas Desire. He has campaigned for brands like Wendell Rodrick, Vikram Phadnis and Westside.

He was a cook on the show 'Karen Anand's Cook Na Kaho' before his official debut into films.^[1]

Film

Patel appeared in many music videos, including the remix of the classic Bollywood song "Kya Khoob Lagti Ho", which also featured Udita Goswami.

In 2006, he made his Bollywood debut in the film 36 China Town. The film was a success at the box office. Subash K Jha commented "Upen Patel as the Casanova in the casino makes an unusual stylish debut. He dances with confidence and holds his own, even among the accomplished ensemble of actors."^[2] Patel won several awards, including the IIFA Award for the role.

His second film, Namastey London, was released on 23 March 2007 and also did well at the box office.^{[citation needed]}

Shortly afterwards, his third film Shakalaka Boom Boom was released on 6 April 2007, but did not do as well at the box office.^{[citation needed]} He did however garner appreciation for his performance. Taran Adarsh comments that Patel is "confidence personified" when performing the complex role, and that "Upen is not just a show-stopper when it comes to looks, but has the potential to climb the ladder as an actor".^[3]

In 2008, he received flak for his guest appearance in Ashwani Dheer's One Two Three.^{[citation needed]} His role in Money Hai Toh Honey Hai was well received, but the film did not become a commercial success. He also played a cameo in Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani.^[4]

In 2010 he took time out to finish a diploma in film making from the NIFT in the UK and earned a diploma in scriptwriting from Raindance in the UK. The same year, he completed a summer camp in Acting at the Lee Strasberg Actors' Studio in Los Angeles.

In 2012, he is going to appear in the film Run Bhola Run.

In 2013 he will be making his debut in South Indian cinema starring in one of India's most expensive films titled "I" which will be directed by S. Shankar.

In 2013 he will be making his debut in French cinema as the leading man in a film to be directed by Yann Danh.

Personal life

Upen Patel lives in Mumbai, India. He has been linked to many supermodels and Bollywood actresses in the media including Tabu, Tanisha, Amrita Arora, Shivani Kapoor, Shamita Shetty, Shamita Singha, Sheetal Mallar, Celina Jaitley, Esha Gupta, Kangana Ranaut, Deepika Padukone and Victoria Secret Brazilian model Camilla Tavares.^[5]

Awards and nominations

Star Screen Awards

Nominated

• 2007: Star Screen Award for Most Promising Newcomer - Male; 36 China Town

Zee Cine Awards

Winner

• 2007: Zee Cine Award for Best Male Debut; 36 China Town

IIFA Awards

Winner

• 2007: IIFA Awards' Best Debutant (Male); 36 China Town

Global Indian Film Awards

Winner

• 2006: Best Debut Actor; 36 China Town

In the media

Patel was voted one of the top ten sexiest Asians in the world in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 in the Eastern Eye.^[6]

Other work

Patel was the first male Grand Marshal from Bollywood at the Independence Day parade in Los Angeles on 10 August 2008.^[5]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Other notes
2006	36 China Town	Rocky	Winner, IIFA Best Male Debut Award
2007	Namastey London	Imran Khan
2007	Shakalaka Boom	Reggie Kapoor
2008	One Two Three	Chandu
2008	Money Hai Toh Honey Hai	Manik Khiralal
2009	Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani	Rahul Jalan
2012	Run Bhola Run		Releasing On April 28, 2012
2013	I		Tamil film Filming