Shilpa Shetty's UK Win Hailed As 'Victory For India'

[Guest guest]

MUMBAI (Jan 29, 2007): Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty's Celebrity

Big Brother win has received blanket coverage in India, with the

media there hailing her victory as a mark of Britain's tolerance

following the race row that engulfed the show.

 

The Indian star's plight on the programme - where she faced alleged

racist bullying from Jade Goody, Danielle Lloyd and Jo O'Meara -

captured the imagination of the Indian media, where the story was

given high prominence on a daily basis.

 

Today relatives and neighbours of Shetty were celebrating outside

the family home in India, as fans boasted of a victory for the

country.

 

"I am very happy, I was glued to the TV the whole night. I spoke to

her for two minutes last night and she said 'I love you Dad'. Shilpa

has been a winner from childhood and she has proved it again,"

Shetty's father Surendra told reporters Monday.

 

"We will have a get-together party when she is back. I thank the

British public for all their support to Shilpa," he added. Shetty's

mother Sunanda had left for London to meet her daughter.

 

One neighbour said it was a proud day for India.

 

"It feels good to know that an Indian actress won the British show,"

said Viren Shah, outside the Shetty home in the Mumbai suburb of

Andheri.

 

Another neighbour said the actress's poise while being taunted about

her personal hygiene and cooking skills by some housemates, led by

former winner Jade Goody, on the British reality television show

showed her good nature.

 

"She has a very adjusting nature and I am happy that she made it,"

said close industry colleague and Bollywood actor-turned-producer

Deepak Tijori.

 

Shetty clearly won a viewers' vote after a turbulent contest which

threw several high-voltage personalities from around the world into

one house, where they were filmed round-the-clock by television

cameras for 26 days.

 

It produced a diplomatic storm over the allegedly racist bullying to

which Shetty was subjected, while Goody's tirades made her the focus

for a racism debate in Britain which reached the halls of parliament.

 

"I didn't expect that Shilpa would win because it was a British show

and on British television," said Dharmesh Desai, a resident in

Shetty's Mumbai building.

 

"She deserved to win. She has shown what Indian women have -- they

have got grace, composure, compassion," said Bollywood actor Rahul

Roy, who won the Indian version of the reality show.

 

Comedy actor Arshad Warsi, who hosted the Indian show, told anchors

on NDTV that her win was a show of inner strength, saying: "It's

absolutely tough. Surviving there is not easy at all."

 

Shetty's triumph dominated news on television networks and news

websites were flooded with comments.

 

"It's a victory of our cultural values," wrote Nitin Patney on one

media website message board.

 

"Many thought that you would leave the show and go back to India,

but you showed the whole world you have courage. Shilpa has made

Indians very proud," wrote Santan F. Coutinho on the website of NDTV

news network.

 

Shetty is best known as a Bollywood actress who never reached the A-

list, but her good looks put her in several major productions

alongside mega stars such as Salman Khan.

 

Her last big hit film was "Dhadkan" (Heartbeat) in 2000.

 

She took a serious role in 2004 in "Phir Milenge" (See you again), a

movie in which she played an AIDS victim. It won critical acclaim

but failed at the box office.

 

Bollywood trade analysts said the show would open up international

opportunities for Shetty, but may not revive her sagging Bollywood

career.

 

"In Bollywood, her career was going downhill. This victory will not

change much for her here, but she will be swamped with endorsement

offers in the UK and the US," said Komal Nahta, editor of trade

weekly Film Information.

 

Firms such as US-based Coca-Cola and PepsiCo and high-end jewellery

and watch firms from Europe have paid millions of dollars to attract

celebrity endorsements in India where a booming economy in the past

five years has led to a surge in consumer spending.

 

Shetty has done nearly 50 films since she first acted in a Bollywood

blockbuster in 1993, but has less a dozen hit films to her credit.

 

SOURCE:

1. The Guardian, London

2. News (AFP)

 

URL:

1. http://www.guardian.co.uk/india/story/0,,2001364,00.html

2. http://tinyurl.com/3doke6