Other Work
In 2003, Saran hosted the 50th Filmfare South Award with actor R. Madhavan. She was a part of Tamil director Mani Ratnam's stage show, Netru, Indru, Naalai, an event which sought to raise funds for "The Banyan", a voluntary organisation which rehabilitates homeless women with mental illness in Chennai. She was one of the guests alongside actor Surya Sivakumar at the season 3 finale of TV dance show Maanada Mayilada.
Saran was the first actress, and the third celebrity after Shahrukh Khan and Aamir Khan to deliver a lecture to students at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A) on 12 February 2010. She said that, "The Indian media and entertainment industry is the fastest growing sector at present, so considering this IIM Ahmedabad had started a new program CFI – Contemporary Film Industry – A Business Perspective. I was there to give a lecture to 2nd year students of CFI and did a lot of research for the lecture for nearly five days." She held a lecture on marketing and branding of a film. In 2011, she gave a lecture to students at the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) Madras on the history of films, and films as a medium of cultural exchange.
Saran started her modelling career by acting in a Pond's Creams advertisement. She then did a Coca-Cola advertisement alongside Tamil actor Vijay which was directed by prominent director Rajiv Menon. She also starred in a Fair & Lovely creams advertisement during her early career. In 2007, she become the brand ambassador of Saravana Stores. She is now the brand ambassador of the Lux and Head & Shoulders. Saran was also signed as brand ambassador along with actor Saif Ali Khan for Brooke Bond Taj Mahal Tea. Saran says no to soft drinks advertisements because she feels that soft drinks may harm children's health. In 2011, Saran was appointed as the promotional model for McVitie's by United Biscuits along with actress Bipasha Basu.
On the sports front, Saran is brand ambassador of Celebrity Cricket League (CCL), a concept that mixes two passions in India, film and cricket. In April 2010, she danced with Shahrukh Khan at the fourth season opening ceremony of the Indian Premier League (IPL), another cricket league.
In 2007, Saran launched the first issue of Galatta Cinema and has been featured on its cover many times. In 2008, she was featured in, and appeared on the cover of the June issue of Maxim India. Editor Anup Kutty said, "We had been thinking of getting someone who bridges this strange divide we have between the North, South and the West ... Shreya fit the bill perfectly." She has appeared on various other magazine covers over the years, including Jade and South Scope. In 2012, she again did a photoshoot for Maxim India.
Read more about this topic: Shriya Saran
Famous quotes containing the word work:
“I suppose I have a really loose interpretation of “work,” because I think that just being alive is so much work at something you don’t always want to do.... The machinery is always going. Even when you sleep.”
—Andy Warhol (1928–1987)
“A man’s got to work for more than himself and his kids to feel right.”
—John Dos Passos (1896–1970)