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By Diana Rohini La Vigne
As Certified Personal Fitness Trainer, Eliyas Qureshi was one of Bombay’s most
popular trainers with Bollywood celebrities including Fardeen Khan, Feroz Khan, Zaheed Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Twinkle Khanna,
Ram Gopal Verma and many others. Since moving to New York City eight years ago, Qureshi has worked with such top gyms as The
Sports Club L.A. and New York Sports Club and has earned a black belt in Kung-Fu and Ketsugo. But now his focus is on enhancing
his acting career. Gaining immediate notarity, he has already appeared on Law and Order, Law and Order CI, Dave Chappell Show,
Monk, and he also was in Love Key liye Kuch Bhi Karega, The Great New Wonderful and The Interpreter. Sharing sets with mega
stars such as Naseruddin Shah, Sean Penn, Nicole Kidman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Tony Shalhoub, he has built a solid acting foundation
with a promising future.
“Being on a film set in front or behind the cameras is the most elated and freeing experience
for me. I come alive. I am like a kid in a candy store,” explains Qureshi, “Although my family was a very strict
Muslim family… I was fascinated by all the movies I used to watch. I would skip school and watch movies. Some times
I would watch 3 movies in a row! So even when I was a kid, I had made up my mind that I wanted to be an actor. I started acting
and modeling in Bombay when I was 20 years of age. My friend Ekta Kapoor (Jetender Kapoor's Daughter) offered me a part in
her television show called Hum Panch."
Being raised in Bombay, he now lives in New Jersey and works out of New York
City. He explains that being an actor of South Asian origin is not easy in the big city.
“I feel stereotyped
when my agent call and tells me that I have to audition for a cab drive, doctor or a terrorist. It frustrates me because they
do not see me as an actor who could play different roles. What even frustrates me more is my own South Asian community. When
I audition for a role for a South Asian cross over film, they think I’m not Indian enough. I know it will change. It
is changing. I hope that film makers look at someone and see them for their talent and not if I’m brown. There are many
obstacles… “Qureshi adds.
Eliyas Qureshi is looking to soar to higher heights with his acting career while
continuing his role as a fitness trainer. He can be contacted via email at eliyasq@aol.com or by phone at (917) 207-6194.nter
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