Upen Patel (born 16 August 1982) is a British actor and model. In addition to working in

Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

films, he has host several television reality shows including ''

Bigg Boss 8 ''Bigg Boss 8'', which merged into '' Bigg Boss Halla Bol!'', was the eighth season of the Indian reality television series ''Bigg Boss'', which premiered on TV channel Colors from 21 September 2014 and concluded on 3 January 2015 with five ...

'' and ''

Nach Baliye 7 ''Nach Baliye'' () is an Indian Hindi-language celebrity dance reality television series that airs on Star Plus. Production Concept The show is a competition wherein 10 television celebrity couples compete against each other. Contestants danc ...

''. He also hosted MTV Love School with

Karishma Tanna Karishma Tanna Bangera (born 21 December 1983) is an Indian actress, model and anchor who predominantly works in Hindi films and television shows. She made her television debut with ''Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi'' in 2001. She is well known ...

Personal life

Upen Patel is a

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub ...

, born on 16 August 1982, in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. He grew up in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Patel dated actress

from 2014 to 2016.

Career

In May 2006, Patel made his Bollywood debut with the film ''

36 China Town ''36 China Town'' is a 2006 Indian Hindi-language mystery thriller comedy film directed by Abbas- Mustan and produced by Subhash Ghai. It is an official adaption of the 1992 American film '' Once Upon a Crime'' (which in turn is a remake of the ...

'', directed by the duo

Abbas–Mustan Abbas–Mustan is an Indian filmmaking duo consisting of brothers Abbas Alibhai Burmawalla and Mustan Alibhai Burmawalla, known for directing stylish suspense, action and romantic thrillers in Bollywood with dark-lighted themes. The duo directed ...

. His next Bollywood movie, ''

Namastey London ''Namastey London'' () is a 2007 Indian romance film, directed and produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah, starring Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif in lead roles. It also stars Rishi Kapoor, Nina Wadia, Javed Sheikh, Upen Patel and Clive Standen in s ...

'', released in March 2007, where Patel played the character of a Pakistani Muslim living in

. In April 2007, his third film '' Shakalaka Boom Boom'' was released, which was produced and directed by Suneel Darshan. He also appeared in ''

Money Hai Toh Honey Hai ''Money Hai Toh Honey Hai'' () is a Bollywood comedy film directed by Ganesh Acharya and produced by Kumar Mangat, story and screenplay by Muazzam Beg. It features a cast of stars including Govinda, Aftab Shivdasani, Upen Patel, Hansika Motwani ...

''. Patel appeared in the 2008 film, ''

One Two Three ''One Two Three'' is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language comedy film that is an uncredited remake of the 1992 American film ''Blame It on the Bellboy'' about three men with similar surnames staying in the same hotel.The movie stars Sunil Shetty, Paresh ...

''. He then appeared in ''

Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani ''Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani'' () is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film directed by Rajkumar Santoshi. The film stars Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif. Upon release, it was a critical and commercial success grossing worldwide, bec ...

'', released in November 2009. Patel made his Tamil film début with the movie, '' I'', released in January 2015 and directed by

S. Shankar Shankar Shanmugam (born 17 August 1963), credited as S. Shankar or his mononym Shankar, is an Indian filmmaker who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. He is one of the most prolific and highest paid film directors in India. His films typicall ...

. Patel worked for the weekly cooking show ''Cook Na Kaho''. In March 2005, he was replaced by

Shayan Munshi Shayan Munshi is an Indian actor and model. He made his debut in the 2003 Bollywood film Jhankaar Beats and has performed in award-winning films such as ''The Bong Connection'' and ''Carnival''. Shayan has hosted Television series like ''Cook Na ...

. Patel was a participant in the daily reality television show, ''

Bigg Boss ''Bigg Boss'' is an Indian reality television game show franchise based on the Dutch reality show '' Big Brother''. It is produced by Endemol Shine India through Viacom18 and Disney Star. Subsequently, the various versions of the show are made ...

''.

NDTV New Delhi Television Ltd is an Indian news media company focusing on broadcast and digital news publication. The company is considered to be a legacy brand that pioneered independent news broadcasting in India, and is credited for launching t ...

stated that he participated in the show to give his career a boost. Patel was one of the contestants in ''

'' along with

which is produced by Ekta Kapoor under the banner of Balaji Telefilms. They became one of the finalists. Patel was judged as the Model of the Year for four consecutive years at the Asia Fashion Award, and was featured among the top 10 sexiest men in Asia for five years running.

MTV India MTV India is an Indian pay television channel specialising in music, reality and youth culture programming. It was launched in 1996 as the Indian version of MTV and is owned by Viacom 18, a joint venture operation between MTV International ow ...

awarded him as the most stylish male for two years in a row. Patel has appeared in several music videos including

DJ Suketu Suketu Radia, also known as DJ Suketu (born 19 November 1976) is an Indian DJ, music producer and content creator. Since the release of his critically acclaimed tracks -'Bin Tere Sanam'

's ''Kya Khoob Lagti Ho'' in 2005. The music video, with several special effects, was directed and choreographed by Ahmed Khan. It was the most expensive music video of its time shot for a private album.

Filmography

Television

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Patel, Upen Living people Alumni of the University of Hertfordshire English male film actors English male television actors English people of Indian descent British male models 1982 births Gujarati people Actors from London British people of Gujarati descent British male actors of Indian descent British expatriates in India British expatriate actors in India Bigg Boss (Hindi TV series) contestants Zee Cine Awards winners International Indian Film Academy Awards winners Male actors in Hindi cinema Male actors in Telugu cinema Male actors in Tamil cinema