Surrey's Simran Sidhu wins Bollywood Star

Canada has found its newest Bollywood Star, and she's a local.

The OMNI TV competition, for which hundreds of hopefuls auditioned in Vancouver and Toronto, offered the chance for one Canadian to win a role in a Bollywood movie.

Sixteen semifinalists competed in a round in Toronto. After eliminations, six finalists continued on in Mumbai and Goa in India.

In the season finale, the four remaining competitors performed for Bollywood director Nishikant Kamat (Force).

The judging panel consisted of actors Anita Majumdar (Midnight's Children) and Rupinder Nagra (Amal), and director Richie Mehta (Siddharth).

Simran Sidhu, a 25-year-old dancer from Surrey, B.C., who was born in Abu Dhabi and raised in Pune, India, was named the winner on April 27.

Sidhu is a member of Shiamak Davar's Vancouver dance team and performed at both the 2011 International Indian Film Academy Awards in Toronto and the 2013 Times of India Film Awards in Vancouver. She also teaches dance to mentally and physically challenged individuals as part of Shiamak's Victory Arts Foundation.