Actor Dhanush is on a roll. Not only has his movie "3" became the most talked about film of our times, he has one more feather to add to his cap.

He has been voted as the 'Hottest Vegetarian Celebrities 2011' in a poll by People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), beating fellow competitors and industry stalwarts such as Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini and others.

Thousands of people cast their votes to help PETA India determine the Hottest Vegetarian Celebrities of 2011, and Dhanush and Mallika Sherawat were declared the winners.

Dhanush is mighty thrilled about it and posted on his micro-blogging page “Never imagined that being a vegetarian will pay off some day. I am a born vegetarian and am very proud to be one.”

Dhanush and Mallika beat out early leaders Vivek Oberoi and Vidya Balan and faced further competition from Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Sonu Sood, Shahid Kapoor, and Kareena Kapoor, PETA India said.

The winners were chosen based on the total number of votes each celebrity received, plus other factors, the release said and advocated following a vegetarian style of diet, as it helped reduce risk of heart disease, diabetes and cancer and saves lives of a lot of animals.