The Girl from Bondi aims high

By admin Thursday November 5, 2009

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PreityUpalla The final for Miss Earth Australia 2009 Beauty pageant was held on 19th September at the UNSW Round House in Sydney. The event had 10 judges from different walks of life and 25 shortlisted contestants out of 50 initial participants took part in the final contest. Preity Uupala was one of the finalists for the Miss Earth Australia 2009 Beauty pageant and was given the Best Talent Award.

She is the first candidate of Indian or Portuguese origin to ever be a finalist in the competition since it started. She has also been a National finalist for The Miss India Australia Beauty Pageant 2008. With a mixed heritage of Indian and Portuguese background, she has an amazing on screen presence.

Preity does meditation four times a week and is a Certified-Neuro-linguistic programming-Practitioner (NLP). Her next aim is to do Vipassana training. Preity is also a professional Latin American dancer and has performed professionally for shows and also for Music Videos.

When asked how she ventured into the world of modeling she says, “Think it was divine intervention. I worked as an IT consultant for an investment bank and lost my job due to relocation. My world was crumbling down and somehow I got introduced to meditation and personal development. I did some soul searching and enrolled in NIDA for acting classes. I realised I had an inner ability to perform on screen and that was the start of my modeling career.”

Preity does meditation four times a week and is a Certified-Neuro-linguistic programming-Practitioner (NLP). Her next aim is to do Vipassana training.

Who has been your inspiration and when did you first start looking at modeling as a full time career.
Firstly, I will start off by saying that my mother has always been my greatest source of inspiration and motivation in my life compelling me to achieve whatever I desire in my life. In terms of role models, in the fashion industry, fashion Icons like Audrey Hepburn and Sophia Loren have been a big influence for me. In particular, Ms. Aishwarya Rai has always been a source of great admiration in terms of what she managed to accomplish as an international Model, Face and brand. I would be extremely privileged to pursue the same dreams in fashion and entertainment. I started modeling full time about 2 years ago, after I won a modeling photo shoot with a studio and they wanted me to some model for them professionally. They convinced me to pursue it full time as they beloved that I had a lot of potential and a very sensual and exotic “look”. I made a decision and never looked back.

What sort of a fitness regime do you maintain.
I am a professional Latin American dancer, so I’m always burning up the dance floor which keeps me in top shape As well as having fun at the same time! Other than that I practice Bikram yoga regularly and meditate for long periods of time. I also have a very healthy diet and am blessed with a very fast metabolism. Which is just as well as I have a sweet tooth and can’t keep my hands off the chocolate cake!

Do you think being of Indian portugese descent is an advantage or is it a disadvantage?
I am blessed with a very exotic and sensual look as a result of being mixed heritage- Indian and Portuguese. I feel that it gives me a very unique look and has a huge advantage. In the beginning I wondered whether my look has a market or not in the fashion scene here in Australia. That very “look” is doing wonders for me today and has made me very unique in almost any shoot or show that I do and is extremely appealing here I Australia and especially overseas. I also speak 5 different languages and am learning basic Spanish which makes me very versatile as an actor and model and I can tap into various film industries including European, Hollywood and Bollywood.

You have a vast circle of friends from the Indian community here in Australia. What do you hear from them about the incidents of student violence? Do you have a solution to solve this issue.
It is a sad thing to hear about the situation with student violence here in Australia. It is important to remember that this does not happen every day, and it was a one of those unfortunate situations, where many incidents happened at the same time and it not a reflection of Australian society in general. The solution to solve the incidents of student violence would be more education in the general community about multiculturalism and the changing face of Australian society. Also, there needs to be more laws and protocols in place to help victims of such violence.

Where do you aim to be in the next 5 years.
I am a visionary and have big dreams and goals in the upcoming few years. In the next 5 years, if I can do what I love and have the opportunity to serve the world in doing what I am passionate about, I would be a very lucky gal indeed. I aim to be a successful, recognised actor in Hollywood film industry portraying the powerful and intense roles that I dream of playing. Being a pioneer in terms of one of the first Indian actors to really make it in tinsel town. I would also like to further my modeling work and be the ambassador and face of luxury cosmetic and jewellery brands. Most of all, I’d like to be an inspirational role model and use my gifts of public speaking and writing and continue with philanthropy work.

Girls from Australia have not been able to find a foothold in Bollywood. Any reasons why?
The booming bollywood industry usually has the casting done in Mumbai itself, and there are few opportunities for actors outside India to be a part of the films. I have been lucky to have appeared in 2 bollywood films and a number of short Australian films so far. I think it goes both ways, as an actor needs to be extemely ambitious and driven to get somewhere substantial in the movie industry. There are few serious actors here in Australia to being with anyway, and few will do what it taken- even if it means that they have to relocate to pursue their career. Also, there are few Indian movie being filmed and made here in Australia, if that changes, there might be more opportunties. Also, a lot of talented actors and models in Australia head overseas to try and make their big mark there, in countries such as the US, UK and even Mumbai, so often Australia is ignored.

Check Priety Uupala’s portfolio at http://www.starnow.com.au/preityiuupala/