International - India & World   

Shilpa wins Big Brother race

Hasan Suroor

She is declared winner with 63 per cent of the votes

ON TOP OF THE WORLD: Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty after her triumph in London. - PHOTO: REUTERS.

LONDON: If being a star is about knowing how to woo the crowds and deliver the right lines at the right time, Shilpa Shetty gave a masterly class in it over the weekend after becoming the first Indian to win the much talked about Celebrity Big Brother contest here.

In a fairy-tale end to a show that brought Britain and India to the brink of a diplomatic row and sparked a debate on racism and casteism in the two countries, Ms. Shetty was declared winner with 63 per cent of the votes after five other housemates were evicted one by one.

There is no special prize for the winner but all participants get a fee, and Ms. Shetty is reported to have got anything from £200,000 to £300,000.

The widely predicted outcome was seen as a way of repairing the damage done to Britain's reputation as a result of the racist bullying of Ms. Shetty by three of her fellow housemates.

It was a quintessential Bollywood moment when Ms. Shetty, in a red chiffon kurta and casual jeans, stepped out of the BB house to deafening sounds of exploding fireworks and a roar of applause from fans. She was on familiar terrain: there was the stage; there were cameras and lights; and there was a huge audience, starry-eyed and wild with excitement. And she knew exactly what to do: she waved to the crowd, blew kisses in the air and declared her ``love'' for the audience.

``I love you, thank you, thank you!'' she screamed to the crowd which screamed back as the Channel 4 host Davina McCall escorted her to the winner's chair. Now it was time to talk about her experience in the Big Brother house— and answer the question that had dominated headlines in Britain and India for the past three weeks: what did she think of the racist behaviour of those who bullied her? Suddenly, Shilpa Shetty — the star -- switched off, and the practised art of delivering the right lines when the camera rolls took over. Racist behaviour? What racist behaviour? No, she did not believe she had been a victim of racism, she declared giving a clean chit to Jade Goody, better known as her ``tormentor-in-chief''.

``People make mistakes. Jade did not mean to be racist. She may be ill-tempered or hot-tempered but she is not racist. I can say for sure,'' Ms. Shetty said, adding: ``I don't want people to feel they welcomed me here and I created problems for them. I want to thank England for giving me the opportunity to do my country proud.''

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Sinn Fein votes to join Ulster police
Riyadh launches peace initiative
Major disaster averted: Pakistan
Hostilities must end, say Sri Lanka donors
Senior Nepal Minister resigns
Media curbs in Bangladesh
160 killed in Najaf clashes
Bond in China
Missile shield protest
Sri Lankan Minister rushing to New Delhi
Shilpa wins Big Brother race

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu