Lookalike contest mania continues as dozens of Dev Patels descend on park in San Francisco
The Dev Patel Lookalike contest went viral on TikTok (TikTok: Nick.Celeb.Strike)
Actor Dev Patel might be in the UK right now, but many were fooled – if only for a second – by the impressive lookalikes who appeared at Mission Dolores Park, in San Francisco, at the weekend.
In what was termed the “most San Francisco election of them all” by a local newspaper, the park played host to a Dev Patel lookalike contest on Sunday (November 10), taking inspiration from the similar high-profile Timotheé Chalamet competition held in New York in October, and the somewhat-less-popular, but no less fun, Paul Mescal contest in Dublin last week.
At the Chalamet contest, the actor himself made a surprise appearance, sending the whole event into a tailspin. Unfortunately for the Dubliners, Mescal was a no-show but was seen at the premiere of Gladiator II in a nearby cinema later that day.
The Patel contest started off as a joke, according to co-organiser Sitara Bellam. Speaking to Mission Local, she said that there was more of a “demographic for Dev” in San Francisco than for Robert Pattinson, which was the lookalike contest they originally wanted to host.
Emcee Tasnim Kahndakar said it was “a Timotheé Chalamet contest for people of colour.”
One entrant proclaimed: “Anyone can be a Dev Patel” while another said, “Dev is a state of mind”, possibly because they lacked any real physical resemblance to the Slumdog Millionaire actor.
The 20 contestants were whittled down to the final to two: Jaipreet Hundal and Arjun Sheth.
Sheth did the splits and lifted the bottom of his tank top in an effort to sway the audience while Hundal went in the opposite direction by zipping up his jacket.
And it was Hundal who won, taking home – presumably not to Harrow, in North London, like the real star – $50 (£39) and a bouquet of flowers, with one of the organisers saying that “guys don’t get [flowers] enough”.
With a Harry Styles lookalike contest also drew crowds, this time in London, over the weekend, we can’t help wondering who will be next.
Share your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful.
How did this story make you feel?
