'The appeal in Bollywood is the song and dance, the glamour, the people - it is after all the largest film industry in the world,' Choudhury said.

'Suddenly we've got this cross-over between Hollywood and Bollywood which adds to the authenticity of the Indian film industry. It's an exciting time to be part of Bollywood.'

The contest was open to women from all ethnicities as organisers wanted it to be as diverse as possible.

Patel follows the success of Liza Lazarus, a Welsh beauty who scooped the Miss Universe UK title last year, and then found herself starring with Salman Khan in the period drama 'Veer'.