She has taken the West by storm and is now a household name in the UK having won an immensely popular reality show, which snowballed into an international debate. With all the attention from the world over, she is trying very hard to keep her head firmly on her shoulders, meet the red hot Shilpa Shetty.
Rajeev Masand: Shilpa, welcome to Now Showing. So, tell me how have people’s attitudes changed apart from the fact that now you have to tip your hairdresser and waiter in pounds?
Shilpa Shetty: There is no denying that life has changed. I guess, people’s perspective has changed but I really haven’t changed. Let me just put it that all’s well that ends well. What has come out of the entire episode is something really positive and that makes me extremely happy.
Rajeev Masand: Did you know going into the Big Brother house that life is never going to be the same again?
Shilpa Shetty: No, I had no idea. I don’t think anybody had inkling that it could become such a huge issue. It just snowballed into something so unimaginable. And I think people here haven’t understood the enormity of the situation.
Racism is a huge issue there and that is the reason it became such a big thing all over the world. But for me it has been pretty startling. When I got out of the house, firstly, I was just too relieved (laughs out loud). It was a very interesting experience for me because people here know that I have been fairly protected. I come from a very close knit family and all that was very new to me – going to a foreign country, being on my own, defend myself in every situation.
I thought the maximum that would happen to me is a culture shock and it might be difficult understanding the accent but they had a bigger problem understanding my vocabulary. On the whole it’s been a good experience.
Rajeev Masand: Everyone has spoken a lot about the fact that you were very forgiving at the end of the show. You forgave your tormentors. So, was that something that came naturally to you? Of course, there had been a debate that you were doing it because it was the right thing to do on television. Was it just the spontaneous feeling that came out then?
Shilpa Shetty: That is what I felt. I believe it’s important in life to forgive and move on. On the hindsight, everything just happened for the best. It just touched upon an issue that really needed to come out in the open and be addressed. The way that I look at it is that Jade, Joe and Daniel just helped bring out the issue.
Rajeev Masand: Jade Goody, your chief tormentor, was here in India recently. Was there any effort to make contact from her end?
Shilpa Shetty: No, no such thing. Too much was written and blown out of proportion. Honestly, since I have come out of the Big Brother house all my time has gone into protecting those three girls. I have been trying to make things easier for them because they have been through so much already. Their houses have been pelted with stones, their parents are getting death threats and then Jade went into rehab. So, they all have been through their fair share of punishment.
Rajeev Masand: So, if they run into you will you hug them?
Shilpa Shetty: I gave Jade a hug right in the house. I forgave her then and there but I haven’t met her ever since because she went into rehab. For me the fight was over the day she came and said sorry.
Rajeev Masand: Looking back do you feel that you have been an ambassador for this country and the values that people have attached to you like that of resilience and forgiveness. What is the larger role you see yourself playing because that is the mantle that has been put on you whether you like it or not.
Shilpa Shetty: That is true, whether I like or not. When I started I went there just as an actor. Even before entering the Big Brother house I was asked what is the one thing that I expect to do. I said I just wanted to keep my self-respect and dignity intact when I get out. That is all I expected and wanted out of that game show. And I managed to do that. While being in the house, I suddenly realised that I was the only Indian and I was very different.
People were flatulating and burping thinking that it was very cool. They were swearing, it’s not that we don’t swear, I mean am not a hypocrite but you don’t do it on camera when you are a celebrity. There is a certain responsibility that you have to shoulder when you are a celebrity. And all of us there were celebrities in our own way. So, I couldn’t stoop to that level and do what they were doing.
I realised that I would just have to go with the flow. And I got along with everybody until these petty things started to crop up. I can’t be petty. I realised that when I said things like I am representing my country and is this today’s UK it just became so big. But those were things that just came out. I was not just a Bollywood actor there I had this added responsibility too. And then when I came back I heard statements made by people that she has not gone there to represent the country. And people in UK, the Asian community comprising of Indians, Pakistanis and Sri Lankans said that I was their representative. People barring colour, cast and creed came out in support of me.
So, whether I liked it or not they gave me that responsibility. It’s too much of responsibility but I feel extremely proud that people put me on that pedestal, loved and gave me so much respect. And that I did not let them down.
Rajeev Masand: Celebrity Big Brother has certainly opened many doors for you. What are the opportunities you are going to take up? There is speculation that you are going to vanish from Bollywood and shift home to London? What’s the direction you are going in?
Shilpa Shetty: As of now, I don’t know. But I will not deny that there have been many interesting and lucrative offers. I’m toying between what to do and what not to do. I’m trying to do a balancing act between Mumbai and London. I’m in a very interesting phase. London is not really my base but people are offering me some very interesting work, something that no Asian person has given me. I would be rather foolish not to take them up. It does not mean that I won’t be acting in Hindi movies. I was already very selective about my work. This year I have two great releases so I’m not really bothered about being out of sight and out of mind.
Rajeev Masand: So do you think Metro and Apne, which are your two releases this year, will get a boost?
Shilpa Shetty: I’ve been saying Metro is a good film for a really long time. At the end of it all, the audience goes for the movie and not how big the star is. The actor is never bigger than the movie. I can vouch for the fact that it’s an interesting film and it’s a great amalgam of commercial and reality. It will be very viable at the box office, I hope. Suddenly winning Big Brother has caused a lot of intrigue so I also hope that it goes in their favour since a lot of work has gone into them.
Rajeev Masand: In London you were offered the western musical Chicago, there was an offer from Eastenders which is one of their longest-running soaps. These were the offers you said ‘no’ to. Why?
Shilpa Shetty: Yes, people must think I’m a little mad. But I want to do quality work and theatre will take up a lot of time. For Chicago, I just told them can you have it pre-recorded, I’ll just lip sync and they just laughed. Chicago is a great play and they offered me one of the lead roles. I guess it’s easy to say ‘yes’ to things but difficult to say ‘no’.
Rajeev Masand: What’s the kind of thing you would like to do there? What about television?
Shilpa Shetty: I would love to do television. I have been offered some interesting stuff there. Television is huge in the UK and it’s something that gives you instant popularity not that I’m really looking for that right now. It takes you to another level. It’s interesting for me because I have done cinema here. People ask me about Hollywood, and if something comes my way then why not? I’m not going to struggle at this stage. I’ll do what comes my way, something that makes me happy and gives me the opportunity to reinvent myself, starting off with my cookery book and autobiography.
Rajeev Masand: There’s a cookery book, autobiography and a perfume. Are your hands on all of this?
Shilpa Shetty: Yes, I am, that’s why I’m really falling short of time. It’s just too much to do in too little time and no regrets whatsoever. I wish I had 36 hours a day. But it’s all good, right from little things like selecting the name for the perfume.
Rajeev Masand: Is there a name?
Shilpa Shetty: Yes, but I can’t give it out.
Rajeev Masand: How does it smell? Is it you?
Shilpa Shetty: Well, it is me. It’s the essence of every woman.
Rajeev Masand: Financially, a good time, right? You can walk into Tiffany’s and not look at the price tag, you can walk into Louis Vuitton and pick up a couple of bags.
Shilpa Shetty: I could do that even before.
Rajeev Masand: I’m sure but does it feel like you never have to look at a price tag again?
Shilpa Shetty: No. I’m a complete Indian at heart: smart and cost-effective when it comes to things. So if it’s a Louis Vuitton I will buy it if I like it not because I want to follow a trend and there’s nothing really changed. I stay the same way and I’m pretty low-maintenance. Barring diamonds and the Guccis, I’m really low-maintenance and those things aren’t going to change.
Rajeev Masand: Unfortunately, there’s always a flip-side to fame and success. In this case, there was a lot of personal attack. It’s what you call, Indian mentality. There was digging up old skeletons, talk of an affair with a director, did you feel ‘why do I deserve this?’
Shilpa Shetty: When I get too much success, and when I’m going through a really low phase in my life, that’s a question one is bound to ask. When I won Big Brother, I asked myself whether I actually deserved it. When stuff about me was written really hitting below the belt and raked up old stuff and all that was written in India was republished in Britain.
It was so saddening because most of it wasn’t true. Most of it was very old. Like talk about my parent's case, it’s still in the courts. So this whole trial by media started all over again. In the midst of so many things happening, I was just saddened for my parents because they don’t deserve this. I’m willing to take the media lashing out at me or saying good things about me but there’s a line that you need to draw which sets us apart from the West, our culture and somewhere I felt we were losing that.
Rajeev Masand: When did this episode give you a sense of reality? Did it show you that it’s all fickle and there is love, popularity and fame but there is always someone to pull you down. Did it not give you a sense of reality?
Shilpa Shetty: I’ve always be very grounded. These things don’t really affect me. I’ve seen the highs and the lows. I’ve still managed to be the same person. What really hurts me is when it’s stuff about my parents. That’s the only thing that upsets me.
Rajeev Masand: To bring up an old case, they also accused your mother of manipulating your career.
Shilpa Shetty: Yes, that was hitting below the belt. She’s my mother and she has the right to take decisions on my behalf. It’s a right that even I don’t need to give her. Who are these people who are making comments?
Rajeev Masand: There is a lot of talk about your romantic life. Where is it going right now?
Shilpa Shetty: Well, my romantic life seems interesting only in the tabloids.
Rajeev Masand: The stories about your marriage to a director is not true?
Shilpa Shetty: Oh please! Now I don’t even know how to react. After a point I just tend to cut myself off from all this.
Rajeev Masand: Where did that come from? You have just done one film with Anubhav Sinha, which is Dus.
Shilpa Shetty: I have no idea. I don’t even know where it came from. There are a lot of things, which I don’t even want to get into.
Rajeev Masand: Bringing up an old relationship…
Shilpa Shetty: Yes, it’s too much. I can’t even go into it right now because it’s such a long story.
Rajeev Masand: What’s the kind of reaction you have got from your Bollywood colleagues? Are the claws coming out or a little bit of both?
Shilpa Shetty: I think they are in shock. Most people are extremely proud. They are proud that an Indian could go to a foreign country and win something there. It’s never happened. I think it still hasn’t completely sunk in. It just happened so fast. But I think overall the masses, the people who made me are extremely happy. That’s all that matters to me.
Rajeev Masand: All the best. Let’s hope to see you here and there. Let’s hope you don’t leave Bollywood for the West. We are looking forward to seeing lots more exciting stuff from you.
Shilpa Shetty: Thank you, Rajeev.
source : IBN
Rajeev Masand: Shilpa, welcome to Now Showing. So, tell me how have people’s attitudes changed apart from the fact that now you have to tip your hairdresser and waiter in pounds?
Shilpa Shetty: There is no denying that life has changed. I guess, people’s perspective has changed but I really haven’t changed. Let me just put it that all’s well that ends well. What has come out of the entire episode is something really positive and that makes me extremely happy.
Rajeev Masand: Did you know going into the Big Brother house that life is never going to be the same again?
Shilpa Shetty: No, I had no idea. I don’t think anybody had inkling that it could become such a huge issue. It just snowballed into something so unimaginable. And I think people here haven’t understood the enormity of the situation.
Racism is a huge issue there and that is the reason it became such a big thing all over the world. But for me it has been pretty startling. When I got out of the house, firstly, I was just too relieved (laughs out loud). It was a very interesting experience for me because people here know that I have been fairly protected. I come from a very close knit family and all that was very new to me – going to a foreign country, being on my own, defend myself in every situation.
I thought the maximum that would happen to me is a culture shock and it might be difficult understanding the accent but they had a bigger problem understanding my vocabulary. On the whole it’s been a good experience.
Rajeev Masand: Everyone has spoken a lot about the fact that you were very forgiving at the end of the show. You forgave your tormentors. So, was that something that came naturally to you? Of course, there had been a debate that you were doing it because it was the right thing to do on television. Was it just the spontaneous feeling that came out then?
Shilpa Shetty: That is what I felt. I believe it’s important in life to forgive and move on. On the hindsight, everything just happened for the best. It just touched upon an issue that really needed to come out in the open and be addressed. The way that I look at it is that Jade, Joe and Daniel just helped bring out the issue.
Rajeev Masand: Jade Goody, your chief tormentor, was here in India recently. Was there any effort to make contact from her end?
Shilpa Shetty: No, no such thing. Too much was written and blown out of proportion. Honestly, since I have come out of the Big Brother house all my time has gone into protecting those three girls. I have been trying to make things easier for them because they have been through so much already. Their houses have been pelted with stones, their parents are getting death threats and then Jade went into rehab. So, they all have been through their fair share of punishment.
Rajeev Masand: So, if they run into you will you hug them?
Shilpa Shetty: I gave Jade a hug right in the house. I forgave her then and there but I haven’t met her ever since because she went into rehab. For me the fight was over the day she came and said sorry.
Rajeev Masand: Looking back do you feel that you have been an ambassador for this country and the values that people have attached to you like that of resilience and forgiveness. What is the larger role you see yourself playing because that is the mantle that has been put on you whether you like it or not.
Shilpa Shetty: That is true, whether I like or not. When I started I went there just as an actor. Even before entering the Big Brother house I was asked what is the one thing that I expect to do. I said I just wanted to keep my self-respect and dignity intact when I get out. That is all I expected and wanted out of that game show. And I managed to do that. While being in the house, I suddenly realised that I was the only Indian and I was very different.
People were flatulating and burping thinking that it was very cool. They were swearing, it’s not that we don’t swear, I mean am not a hypocrite but you don’t do it on camera when you are a celebrity. There is a certain responsibility that you have to shoulder when you are a celebrity. And all of us there were celebrities in our own way. So, I couldn’t stoop to that level and do what they were doing.
I realised that I would just have to go with the flow. And I got along with everybody until these petty things started to crop up. I can’t be petty. I realised that when I said things like I am representing my country and is this today’s UK it just became so big. But those were things that just came out. I was not just a Bollywood actor there I had this added responsibility too. And then when I came back I heard statements made by people that she has not gone there to represent the country. And people in UK, the Asian community comprising of Indians, Pakistanis and Sri Lankans said that I was their representative. People barring colour, cast and creed came out in support of me.
So, whether I liked it or not they gave me that responsibility. It’s too much of responsibility but I feel extremely proud that people put me on that pedestal, loved and gave me so much respect. And that I did not let them down.
Rajeev Masand: Celebrity Big Brother has certainly opened many doors for you. What are the opportunities you are going to take up? There is speculation that you are going to vanish from Bollywood and shift home to London? What’s the direction you are going in?
Shilpa Shetty: As of now, I don’t know. But I will not deny that there have been many interesting and lucrative offers. I’m toying between what to do and what not to do. I’m trying to do a balancing act between Mumbai and London. I’m in a very interesting phase. London is not really my base but people are offering me some very interesting work, something that no Asian person has given me. I would be rather foolish not to take them up. It does not mean that I won’t be acting in Hindi movies. I was already very selective about my work. This year I have two great releases so I’m not really bothered about being out of sight and out of mind.
Rajeev Masand: So do you think Metro and Apne, which are your two releases this year, will get a boost?
Shilpa Shetty: I’ve been saying Metro is a good film for a really long time. At the end of it all, the audience goes for the movie and not how big the star is. The actor is never bigger than the movie. I can vouch for the fact that it’s an interesting film and it’s a great amalgam of commercial and reality. It will be very viable at the box office, I hope. Suddenly winning Big Brother has caused a lot of intrigue so I also hope that it goes in their favour since a lot of work has gone into them.
Rajeev Masand: In London you were offered the western musical Chicago, there was an offer from Eastenders which is one of their longest-running soaps. These were the offers you said ‘no’ to. Why?
Shilpa Shetty: Yes, people must think I’m a little mad. But I want to do quality work and theatre will take up a lot of time. For Chicago, I just told them can you have it pre-recorded, I’ll just lip sync and they just laughed. Chicago is a great play and they offered me one of the lead roles. I guess it’s easy to say ‘yes’ to things but difficult to say ‘no’.
Rajeev Masand: What’s the kind of thing you would like to do there? What about television?
Shilpa Shetty: I would love to do television. I have been offered some interesting stuff there. Television is huge in the UK and it’s something that gives you instant popularity not that I’m really looking for that right now. It takes you to another level. It’s interesting for me because I have done cinema here. People ask me about Hollywood, and if something comes my way then why not? I’m not going to struggle at this stage. I’ll do what comes my way, something that makes me happy and gives me the opportunity to reinvent myself, starting off with my cookery book and autobiography.
Rajeev Masand: There’s a cookery book, autobiography and a perfume. Are your hands on all of this?
Shilpa Shetty: Yes, I am, that’s why I’m really falling short of time. It’s just too much to do in too little time and no regrets whatsoever. I wish I had 36 hours a day. But it’s all good, right from little things like selecting the name for the perfume.
Rajeev Masand: Is there a name?
Shilpa Shetty: Yes, but I can’t give it out.
Rajeev Masand: How does it smell? Is it you?
Shilpa Shetty: Well, it is me. It’s the essence of every woman.
Rajeev Masand: Financially, a good time, right? You can walk into Tiffany’s and not look at the price tag, you can walk into Louis Vuitton and pick up a couple of bags.
Shilpa Shetty: I could do that even before.
Rajeev Masand: I’m sure but does it feel like you never have to look at a price tag again?
Shilpa Shetty: No. I’m a complete Indian at heart: smart and cost-effective when it comes to things. So if it’s a Louis Vuitton I will buy it if I like it not because I want to follow a trend and there’s nothing really changed. I stay the same way and I’m pretty low-maintenance. Barring diamonds and the Guccis, I’m really low-maintenance and those things aren’t going to change.
Rajeev Masand: Unfortunately, there’s always a flip-side to fame and success. In this case, there was a lot of personal attack. It’s what you call, Indian mentality. There was digging up old skeletons, talk of an affair with a director, did you feel ‘why do I deserve this?’
Shilpa Shetty: When I get too much success, and when I’m going through a really low phase in my life, that’s a question one is bound to ask. When I won Big Brother, I asked myself whether I actually deserved it. When stuff about me was written really hitting below the belt and raked up old stuff and all that was written in India was republished in Britain.
It was so saddening because most of it wasn’t true. Most of it was very old. Like talk about my parent's case, it’s still in the courts. So this whole trial by media started all over again. In the midst of so many things happening, I was just saddened for my parents because they don’t deserve this. I’m willing to take the media lashing out at me or saying good things about me but there’s a line that you need to draw which sets us apart from the West, our culture and somewhere I felt we were losing that.
Rajeev Masand: When did this episode give you a sense of reality? Did it show you that it’s all fickle and there is love, popularity and fame but there is always someone to pull you down. Did it not give you a sense of reality?
Shilpa Shetty: I’ve always be very grounded. These things don’t really affect me. I’ve seen the highs and the lows. I’ve still managed to be the same person. What really hurts me is when it’s stuff about my parents. That’s the only thing that upsets me.
Rajeev Masand: To bring up an old case, they also accused your mother of manipulating your career.
Shilpa Shetty: Yes, that was hitting below the belt. She’s my mother and she has the right to take decisions on my behalf. It’s a right that even I don’t need to give her. Who are these people who are making comments?
Rajeev Masand: There is a lot of talk about your romantic life. Where is it going right now?
Shilpa Shetty: Well, my romantic life seems interesting only in the tabloids.
Rajeev Masand: The stories about your marriage to a director is not true?
Shilpa Shetty: Oh please! Now I don’t even know how to react. After a point I just tend to cut myself off from all this.
Rajeev Masand: Where did that come from? You have just done one film with Anubhav Sinha, which is Dus.
Shilpa Shetty: I have no idea. I don’t even know where it came from. There are a lot of things, which I don’t even want to get into.
Rajeev Masand: Bringing up an old relationship…
Shilpa Shetty: Yes, it’s too much. I can’t even go into it right now because it’s such a long story.
Rajeev Masand: What’s the kind of reaction you have got from your Bollywood colleagues? Are the claws coming out or a little bit of both?
Shilpa Shetty: I think they are in shock. Most people are extremely proud. They are proud that an Indian could go to a foreign country and win something there. It’s never happened. I think it still hasn’t completely sunk in. It just happened so fast. But I think overall the masses, the people who made me are extremely happy. That’s all that matters to me.
Rajeev Masand: All the best. Let’s hope to see you here and there. Let’s hope you don’t leave Bollywood for the West. We are looking forward to seeing lots more exciting stuff from you.
Shilpa Shetty: Thank you, Rajeev.
source : IBN