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AB Wire

BAY AREA, CALIFORNIA: The Miss India America 2015, to be held this year on August 8 at the LAX Renaissance Hotel in Los Angeles, would mark the 23rd anniversary for the beauty pageant.

Founded in 1992 by Jinnder Chohan, the pageants Mr. and Miss India America 2015 is presented by South Asia Magazine, Wells Fargo, and JINmodels.com.

“Bollywood filmmaker Anil Sharma of hit films ‘Gadar’, ‘Veer’ and ‘Apne’ will be one of the official judges at Mr. & Miss India America. We are also honored to have Hollywood producer Sunil Perkash of hits ‘Salt’ with Angelina Jolie and ‘Premonition’ with Sandra Bullock joining us at our pageant,” said Chohan.

The Elite Awards 2015, to be held at the pageant, will honor top Hollywood producers Randall Emmett and Adi Shankar.

Emmett’s blockbuster hits include ‘2 Guns’ with Denzel Washington, ‘Empire State’ with Liam Hemsworth, ‘Escape Plan’ with Sylvester Stallone, ‘16 Blocks’ with Bruce Willis, and ‘Rambo’ with Sylvester Stallone.

Shankar’s blockbusters include ‘Lone Survivor’ with Mark Wahlberg, ‘Killing Them Softly’ with Brad Pit, ‘Broken City’ with Russell, and ‘The Grey’ with Liam Neeson.

The awards honor those that have excelled in the entertainment industry and have inspired others. Past recipients have included Hollywood legend Garry Marshall (Pretty Woman), actor Steven Seagal, director Shekhar Kapur, and Bollywood filmmakers Anurag Kashyap, Kunal Kohli, Subhash Ghai and Rahul Rawail.

Many of the pageant’s past winners are now having a successful career in Hollywood. Melanie Kannokada, former Miss India America, can be seen on HBO’s ‘The Brink’ with Jack Black and Tim Robbins, and soon on CBS’ new Series ‘Code Black’, in September. Nishi Munshi, former Miss India California, can be seen on CW’s ‘The Originals’, and Hasan Minaj, former Mr. India California, is seen as a regular on ‘The Daily Show’ with Jon Stewart.

Current titleholder from Arizona, Maya Charuni Sarihan – Miss India America 2014, is a pre-med student and singer.

“About a year ago, I embarked on a remarkable journey that led me to become Miss India America. Though “pageant girls” are supposedly manicured and poised, I think this journey has actually taught me to be 100% true to my crazy self, whether behind the camera or in class. So here’s to many more candids, adventures, and laughing like a 5 year old at absolutely nothing,” said Sarihan, of the pageant, in a statement.

The pageant and awards are expected to bring some well-known celebrities on the red carpet: actress Ambyr Childer (2 Guns, Gangster Squad, Showtime’s Ray Donovan, NBC’s Aquarius), actress Annett Mahendru (FX’s The Americans, The Following on FOX), Bravo TV’s Asifa Mirza (Shahs of Sunset), Bollywood’s DJ Akbar Sami, actor Ravi Patel (Grandfathered with John Stamos), actress/producer Kim Poirier, actress Kate Linder (The Young & The Restless), Australian singer Katja, French singer/actress Melissa Mars, British singer/actress Sofia Hayat (Big Boss), actress Nishi Munshi (CW’s The Originals), actress Courtney James Clark (Jurassic World), BET TV host Chasity Saunders (The Art of Fabulous), Disney singer/actress Alexa Ferr, Dr. Rachael Ross (Doctors), Tyree Washington (Gold Olympian and former San Diego Charger), actor Joe Estevez, Karla and Iris Gordy (MoTown Records), actress Madison Beaty (The Fosters), Rizwan Manji (The Wolf on Wall Street), among others.

The event sponsors include Robert Mondavi winery, PrintLife, Belvedere Vodka, Top Priority Media, Cloud 21, People Water, Brain Toniq, Domaine Chandon, Patron, Scala, and Bodvar of Sweden.