 JAN 19 - With servants to wait on her as a child and her
mother chaperoning her on Bollywood film sets, actor Shilpa
Shetty led a luxurious and sheltered life. Sheltered, that
is, until she decided to walk into Celebrity Big Brother,
the British reality TV show.
"We brought her up like a princess," her mother, Sunanda
Shetty says.
The actor's mother adds, "This is the first time in her
31 years that she has traveled without me. And now she is
getting a taste of the outside world."
Reduced to tears by insults from fellow competitors,
Shetty's family says the show has been a reality check for
Shilpa who has said her treatment smacked of racism.
While, Europe's biggest mobile phone retailer has pulled
its sponsorship after the racism issue cropped up, the
Indian government has asked Britain to check if race laws
had been broken.
Beginning her career as a model, Shilpa has enjoyed only a
few hits among her 40 or so films in Bollywood. In recent
years she has been overshadowed by the up coming film
stars, so she could never have dreamt of the kind of
publicity she has so far received on the British show.
Wider recognition for her acting skills came in 2004
when she played an advertising agency employee with HIV in
Phir Milenge. It earned her several film award nominations.
Since then, she has virtually been off the Bollywood scene,
although two films are due to be released this year.
At 5 feet 10 inches, Shilpa loves sport, is a black belt
in karate and now makes intermittent appearances as a game
show and beauty contest judge. She is also involved in
HIV/AIDS prevention programmes and promotes animal rights
for the pressure group PETA (People for Ethical Treatment
of Animals).
"She is talented. She can speak half a dozen Indian
languages and a smattering of French," says a director who
has worked with Shilpa but refused to be identified because
of the controversy surrounding her.
Shilpa, who is single, has had her share of
controversies in Bollywood including reports of romantic
links with actor Akshay Kumar.
She denied the reports and even successfully sued a film
magazine for publishing what she said was a damaging
article about her and Akshay, who acted with her in several
films.
Her family says she put some projects on hold to appear
on Big Brother, for which she is reportedly making more
than $680,000, the highest paid of all the housemates.
"We are not after money. By God's grace we are doing
well," Sunanda Shetty says.
"She did it because she wanted to do it. We did not want
to come in between. All this has brought out the remarkably
mature and graceful side of her. She has not lost her
quintessential Indianness even amidst all the
intimidation," the mother adds. (Reuters) |
Articles/Opinions
Hottie of the day
JAN 17 - Deepa Mehta's film
