The competition to be named PETA’s India’s Hottest Vegetarian Celebrity 2012 was fierce, with early leaders Neha Dhupia and Shahid Kapoor as well as Sonu Sood, Dhanush, Kareena Kapoor and Hema Malini putting up a real fight. But now, after thousands of votes were cast to help PETA India choose the winners, the results are in, with Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan and The Dirty Picture star Vidya Balan taking top honours.
Bachchan has been named PETA India’s Hottest Vegetarian Celebrity three times and even won the crown in PETA Asia’s equivalent contest last year. And Balan – who was PETA India’s Hottest Vegetarian of 2010 – credits her sizzling physique to her choice to stick to meat-free meals, explaining, “I am a vegetarian … as a result, my metabolism has improved, and this is a huge contributor to weight loss”.