Who is Shilpa Shetty
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Shilpa Shetty
Shilpa Shetty is an Indian film actress and model. Since making her debut in the film Baazigar (1993), she has appeared in nearly 40 Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada language films, her first leading role being in the 1994 Aag. Although she has been through years of decline during her career, Shetty has been willing to reinvent herself quite often. Her performances in Dhadkan (2000) and Rishtey (2002) were appreciated, while her portrayal of an AIDS patient in Phir Milenge (2004) won her many accolades. Her younger sister Shamita Shetty is also a Bollywood film actress.
Shilpa was a bright student and studied at Podar College in Mumbai, but destiny had other plans as her modeling career took off as Shilpa did a commercial for ‘Limca’, which got her a movie ‘Gaata Rahe Mera Dil’ opposite Rahul Roy. The movie got shelved, but Shilpa did not loose hope and went on to sign ‘Baazigar’ opposite the superstars Shahrukh Khan and Kajol. ‘Baazigar’ became a superhit and Shilpa won the Best debutante Award in 1994 for her performance in the movie. Shilpa also made news for her nose surgeries as the actress went under the knife a couple of times to get a perfect nose.
Shetty has been embroiled in various controversies including suspected Mafia links. In 2006 she was issued with a warrant on charges of obscenity. After taking part in the British Celebrity Big Brother TV show in 2007, Shetty was crowned the winner with 63% of the final vote, after an international racism controversy involving her and fellow contestants Jade Goody, Jo O’Meara and Danielle Lloyd. This was followed by a re-establishment of her status in the film industry in 2007 when she appeared in two successive movies, Life in a… Metro and Apne, with her performance in the former drawing positive reviews.
Shilpa Shetty, sizzling starlet, who has mesmerized audiences with her devastating , unconventional looks and stunning figure, almost worked with all top actors both south and North film Industries. After debuting in Baazigar, she sky rocketed to a levels of success. Shilpa found Bollywood calling her very early in life and that was when she decided to quit college and head for the spotlight. The industry started to take notice of her and after her award, offers started pouring in en-masse.
The movie that really catapulted her to stardom was Main Khiladi Tu Anari. Though other movies weren’t box office rages, Shilpa kept getting accolades and fame. The movie ‘Dhadkan’ gave her a nomination for Best actress. She has gone through a lot of changes in last couple of years both professionally and personally. She has shed off her old looks and way of dressing up. Suddenly she has started looking ‘wow’ with trendy hairstyle, impeccable make up and designer clothes. The old Shilpa Shetty is just a distant past.
After a failed relationship with Akshay Kumar she was linked to composer Sandeep Chowta by the glossies. When Shilpa is not working, she enjoys spending time with her family eating her favourite foods and working out a lot. With looks, talent and an uncanny ability to stay on top despite the rigours of the industry, Shilpa Shetty is one actress that Bollywood can count on for a long time to come.
Film Career
Shetty started her career by modelling for Limca in 1991 at age 16, and made her film debut in 1993 with Baazigar, portraying a woman murdered by her psychopathic boyfriend. Shetty took the supporting role of Seema, co-starring alongside Shahrukh Khan and Kajol; the film was a major success and earned her a nomination for Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award.
Her first leading role was in the film Aag in 1994, which was averagely received at the box office. She had a hit that same year with the film Main Khiladi Tu Anari opposite Akshay Kumar. This was followed by many films which were average to poor performers at the box office. Shetty starred in another big film that year, Aao Pyaar Karen, followed in 1995 by Hathkadi, where she was working alongside actors such as Saif Ali Khan, Govinda and Madhoo, but they failed at the box office. 1997 was one of her busiest years: she appeared in six different films, beginning with the small Telugu language film Veedeva Dani Babu. Her first major Bollywood film of that year was the action thriller Auzaar. Shilpa portrayed the character of Prathna Thakur alongside actors Salman Khan and Sanjay Kapoor. In 1998, she had one release, Pardesi Babu, for which she received critical acclaim and won the Bollywood Movie Award for Best Supporting Actress. In 2000, Shetty received much acclaim for her role in Dhadkan which earned reasonable takings at the Indian box office. She received several nominations under the Best Actress category in different award ceremonies. She would later go on to star with Anil Kapoor and Karisma Kapoor in the film Rishtey (2002). Her comic performance as an eccentric fisherwoman was appreciated and she received a nomination under the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award category and various nominations for Best Comedian as well.
2004 was also a good year for Shetty with the release of Garv in which she portrayed a Muslim orphan and disillusioned table dancer starring opposite Salman Khan. According to Shetty, she chose to do the film because she liked the subject. The film was a cop drama, and did not do well at the box office. However, she received much acclaim for her performance in Phir Milenge, where she made a sensitive portrayal of a successful city high-flyer who contracts HIV via unprotected sex and becomes a social outcast as a result. The film, based on 1993′s Philadelphia, was perceived to have tackled a social taboo as yet unaddressed by Bollywood. The film earned Shetty a Filmfare Best Actress nomination, and provided an impetus for her HIV-related charity work . Film critic Taran Adarsh from indiaFM noted, “Phir Milenge belongs to Shilpa Shetty completely. She delivers, what can be rightly called, the performance of her career. The viewer feels and empathizes with the character mainly because of her effective portrayal. She conveys the pain and the emotional upheaval through her expressive eyes, making it amongst the most memorable performances the year has seen so far.” This marked a break from the previous trend of superficial song-and-dance items in favour of roles which have a greater depth of character, exemplified by her film Dus (2005), an action thriller. Although it received average returns at the box office, Shetty stated that she had taken the role in order to reinvent herself by portraying the rather unconventional character of an anti-terrorist squad member. She also starred with her sister in the film Fareb in 2005. Shilpa had one release in 2006, the much delayed Shaadi Karke Phas Gaya Yaar. The film was a box office flop, but she got good reviews for her role as a not entirely likeable wife. In 2006, she was a judge on Jhalak Dikhlaja, a Sony Entertainment Television dance show based on the original UK show Strictly Come Dancing. Shetty was once featured in Mani Ratnam’s stage show, Netru, Indru, Naalai.
2007 proved to be Shetty’s most successful year at the box office so far. Her first release, Life In A… Metro, won a significant reception, and became the first Bollywood movie to premiere at Leicester Square. The film performed well at the box office, and was declared a semi-hit within three weeks. Additionally, the film was critically acclaimed and Shetty’s performance was appreciated, with Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN writing, “It’s a terrific performance and unquestionably Shilpa’s best to date.” Her second release, alongside three Deols, Dharmendra, Sunny and Bobby, the drama Apne, was also a box office success.
Personal life
Shetty is a frequent subject of speculation regarding romance. However, she has remained tight-lipped whenever questions of marriage are posed to her. She previously dated Akshay Kumar, but the couple broke up in 2000 after he started dating Shetty’s friend and fellow actress Twinkle Khanna after a previous indiscretion, which led to Shetty’s successful suing of Stardust Magazine for publishing a “damaging” report about the affair.
In an interview for The Times of India, Shetty quashed rumours of a romance with film director Anubhav Sinha and claimed to have changed her mobile phone number in order to concentrate on her busy schedule. But in a later interview for The Sunday Mirror, a friend of Shetty said that she was “in love” with Sinha and that he was her “soulmate”, but that she could not be with him for fear of parental disapproval, social stigma (Sinha is married with two children, although currently separated) and adverse public perception.
Richard Gere kissing incident
Shilpa Shetty and Richard Gere
On April 15, 2007, Richard Gere kissed Shetty on the cheek several times in jest during an AIDS-awareness event. The pair were appearing at a press conference in New Delhi as part of a campaign to preach safe sex to truck drivers in India and promote AIDS awareness. The kiss, considered an attack on India’s cultural and moral values, prompted protesters – alleged members of the extremist Hindu group Shiv Sena – to beat burning effigies of Gere with sticks. Others set fire to glamour shots of Shetty. People demanded an apology from her and threatened to ban her movies in the state. Shiv Sena leaders denied involvement in the protests, but Shiv Sena member of parliament Sanjay Raut observed that the protests are “just a manifestation of the anger of the general public” and that there was “nothing wrong with expressing contempt at such an act”
Similar protests broke out in other cities, including Varanasi, Hinduism’s holiest city, and the northern town of Meerut, where crowds of hundreds of thousands chanted “Down with Shilpa Shetty!” The STAR News office was also attacked. The protests did not take any violent turn and the situation was quickly brought under control, with some activists being detained.
Shetty responded to these protests by saying, “I understand this (kissing) is his (Gere’s) culture, not ours. But this was not such a big thing or so obscene for people to overreact in such a manner. I understand people’s sentiments, but I do not want a foreigner to take bad memories from here.”
On April 26, 2007, an Indian court in Rajasthan issued a warrant for Shetty and Gere’s arrest.
The legal action against both Shetty and Gere has been suspended by the Indian Supreme Court until the court decides on the case’s proper jurisdiction. Gere has since expressed regret for causing any offense and Shetty has said, “so much has been blown out of proportion”.
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