At a glittering event of the 21st Suvidha Gaurav Achiever Awards at Khar Gymkhana grounds in Mumbai this week, Bollywood's celebrity publicist Dale Bhagwagar was presented the 'Crossover Publicist of the Year' award for effectively publicizing and positioning his clients Shilpa Shetty and Ashok Amritraj in the international media.

Coinciding with the auspicious occasion of Maharashtrian New Year (Gudi Padwa), over 2,500 invitees witnessed the awards this year, as the ceremony was aired live on India's farthest reaching television channel Doordarshan.

In the past, prominent celebrities including the late Sunil Dutt, Amitabh Bachchan, Shatrughan Sinha, Govinda, Ajay Devgan, Karisma Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor, John Abraham and music composers Pritam and Ismail Darbar have received Suvidha awards for their contribution to Indian cinema.

Speaking about Bhagwagar, Mr Shankar Lalwani, chairman of Suvidha Gaurav Foundation said, "We are proud that a PR specialist from Mumbai has transcended the nation's boundaries in imaging and branding his clients Shilpa Shetty and Ashok Amritraj in countries like Britain, Germany and United States amongst others. He has proved himself to be a truly global publicist."

Doubling up as a spokesperson to his clients, Bhagwagar has himself been quoted in various publications like New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, The Times (UK), Guardian (UK), The Independent (UK), The Mail (UK), Daily Mail (UK), Mirror (UK), Daily Star (UK), The People (UK), Marie Claire (UK), Dawn (Pakistan), Jung (Pakistan), VN Express (Vietnam), Gulf News, The Sydney Morning Herald, Bangkok Post, International Herald Tribune (France) and Pravda (Russia), including others.