By:
Joginder
Tuteja,
IndiaFM
Monday,
November
05,
2007
While
Bollywood
is
witnessing
number
of
actors
crossing
over
to
Hollywood
with
interesting
assignments
(most
recent
being
Irrfan
Khan
whose
The
Mighty
Heart
with
Angelina
Jolie
released
recently),
even
America
is
looking
at
artist
exports
to
Bollywood.
Melanie
Kannokada,
reigning
Miss
India
America,
is
one
of
them.
A
Stanford
University
graduate,
she
has
studied
Engineering
and
was
active
in
dancing,
entrepreneurship,
and
student
government.
On
being
asked
about
what
brings
her
to
Bollywood,
Melanie
says,
"I
love
the
elements
of
Indian
Cinema
–
and
can
see
myself
being
part
of
this
magical
and
powerful
genre.
At
the
same
time,
Bollywood
is
not
necessarily
the
end
goal.
It's
about
growing
as
an
artist
and
creating
meaningful
work,
whether
that's
here
or
abroad.
In
terms
of
Bollywood
–
if
the
right
opportunity
comes
along,
it
would
be
hard
to
pass
up!" Melanie's
favorite
stars
are
Kajol,
Madhuri
Dixit
and
Saif
Ali
Khan
while
Life
is
Beautiful,
Amelie,
Kal
Ho
Naa
Ho,
Kabhi
Khushi
Kabhi
Gham
and
Fanaa
are
the
films
that
top
her
list.
While
acting
is
obviously
what
interests
her
most,
she
also
loves
to
dance,
do
modeling,
listen
to
all
types
of
music
and
has
an
eye
for
entrepreneurship,
innovation
and
sustainability!
Melanie
loves
Indian
cinema.
She
confesses,
"I
absolutely
love
Indian
Cinema
–
the
music,
the
dance,
the
emotion,
the
cinematography.
Music
and
dance
have
always
been
a
huge
part
of
me,
so
I
can't
get
enough
of
Bollywood
films."
Still,
she
isn't
into
stereotypes
and
rather
looks
at
being
a
part
of
an
interesting
cinema.
And
adds,
“If
we
look
at
the
Hollywood
market,
now
is
a
good
time
for
South
Asian
talent
to
break
into
mainstream
media
as
more
roles
are
opening
up
for
us.
The
challenge,
however,
is
finding
roles
that
shy
away
from
the
common
stereotypes
we've
seen
for
quite
some
time."
Currently,
she
is
in
the
discussion
with
two
Indian
American
directors
regarding
both
their
offers
for
a
film
shooting
in
2008.
Melanie
has
also
been
noticed
for
her
work
as
an
Indian
TV
Host.
She
produces
and
hosts
two
shows
with
Sahara
One
TV
and
has
had
many
other
offers
from
the
other
major
Indian
TV
networks.
Also,
Asia
TV
is
one
of
the
major
networks
who
are
very
much
interested
in
stealing
her
away.
Modeling
is
also
a
way
of
life
for
her.
She
has
been
doing
a
huge
deal
of
fashion
shows
and
print
work,
both
for
Indian
and
non-Indian
designers.
She
recently
did
a
major
fashion
show
for
Payal
Singhal
in
New
York
City.
Also,
she
came
up
with
a
dance
performance
at
Madame
Tussauds
for
the
public
debut
of
Aishwarya's
wax
figure.