INDIA’S TOP FEMALE FILM STAR, PRIYANKA CHOPRA

TO RECEIVE THE NIELSEN BOX OFFICE AWARD, PRESENTED BY THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, AT 3RD ANNUAL ASIAN FILM AWARDS. Twenty-five-year-old Indian cinema sensation and former Miss World, Priyanka Chopra will receive the Nielsen Box Office Award. The award, which is given for outstanding contribution to Asian film, will be presented to Ms. Chopra by The Hollywood Reporter during the 3rd Annual Asian Film Awards on March 23rd.

The Asian Film Awards, which recognizes professionals for outstanding achievements in the field of Asian cinema, will be held as part of the 33rd Hong Kong International Film Festival at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.

“Priyanka Chopra is India’s number one female star. She has received numerous awards and accolades for her outstanding work since she began acting just a few years ago,” said Eric Mika, Publisher of the Hollywood Reporter and Vice President, Nielsen Media and Entertainment Group. “It is truly amazing to acknowledge the breadth of her success, and we are honored to bestow the Nielsen Box Office Award on one who has done so incredibly much in so little time.”

Chopra made her acting debut in the Hindi film industry, also known as ‘Bollywood,’ in the 2002 film “Andaaz” – A role that immediately won over critics and won her a “Best Female Debut” award (2003) from India’s most respected film awards, Filmfare. With no friends or mentors in the film industry, Chopra, who is not afraid to experiment, followed her debut success with an unconventional part in “Aitraaz.” That offbeat, negative role garnered her widespread approval and won Chopra “Best Female Villain” at the 2004 Filmfare Awards.

In 2008, the young talent appeared in six back-to-back releases. Chopra set screens ablaze with her performances in such films as “Love Story 2050,” “Drona,” and in two of Bollywood’s biggest hits of 2008, “Dostana” and “Fashion.” Not one to stick to conventions, each of these films saw Chopra in path-breaking roles which broke from traditional norms of Hindi Filmmaking including her starring turn in “Fashion,” which recently won her Filmfare’s “Best Actress Award.”

Chopra is only the second recipient to receive the Nielsen Box Office Award. She joins Andy Lau, who received the inaugural award at the 2007 ceremony.

Now in its third year, the Asian Film Awards will be recorded in front of a live audience on March 23rd and will be telecast on Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) to 30 million people in more than 30 countries, and on Star World to more than 79 million homes around the world.