Bollywood Zone : Blog, Movies, Celebs

Everybody wants a share of Shah Rukh Khan, and we don’t blame them - specially the lovely ladies who dream of romancing the superstar on the screen at least. Shilpa Shetty, in her career spanning nearly two decades, got the opportunity to share the limelight with Shah Rukh only once. Until now, of course. Like many other Bollywood beauties, she’s making a special appearance in Farah Khan’s Om Shanti Om. “It’s only the second time in 17 years that I’ll be sharing screen space with Shah Rukh Khan. I starred with him in 1993 in Baazigar for the first time, and we’ve never been cast together after that. In Om Shanti Om, it’s a small appearance, but it made me feel nostalgic,” says Shilpa. Now that SS is a big celebrity in the UK (and Shah Rukh Khan has been a favourite star there for ages), maybe it’s time to bring back this jodi together on the screen again. Karan Johar, Yash Chopra, we hope you are listening?

Shilpa Shetty’s fame seems to have many additional benefits. After she launched her perfume S2 during the IIFA Awards, she donated her first perfume bottle to a charity. The event was a high-profile auction at the Common Wealth House in the Parliament. Incidentally, Shilpa’s perfume fetched a cool 9,000 pounds. Farhath Hussain, Shilpa’s international promoter and also her partner in her restaurant chain, confirms the news, “The charity event was held on Friday evening. She put the first manufactured bottle up for auction for a charity organisation. The event was held to celebrate Keith Vaz’s 20-year run as the MP of Leicester. Shilpa has a huge fan following in Leicester. Keith wanted Shilpa to be a part of the celebration and that’s why she was there.”

Hussain further says, “It was very heart-warming to see that her first ever bottle fetched as much as 9,000 pounds. It was second only to dinner with Tony Blair, which was around 45,000 pounds. The perfume will be officially out in the shops on July 5, and we will have a huge launch on Oxford Street, where we are expecting at least 20,000 people.”

Hussain finally says, “We are also gearing up for her Broadway musical which is set to premiere in August. Niranjan Iyenger is ready with the script and Ganesh Hegde is choreographing it. Shilpa obviously will be the lead actress and we are casting for the rest of the roles, which is currently on in Mumbai. I am sparing no effort to make it huge. After its premiere in London, we will take it all over the world.”

Shilpa Shetty insists that the new man in her life is not former Pakistani cricketer Imran Khan. Rumours of a romance between the two sparked off after they were reportedly matched up at Elizabeth Hurley’s wedding to Arun Nayar.

However, Shilpa has laughed off the rumours and insisted that she only met the handsome cricketer-turned-politician for a minute over there. “These rumours are so baseless. I met Imran for exactly a minute, I think,” a website quoted her, as saying. “I went to the party as it was thrown by a very dear friend of mine,” she added. Imran was married to British heiress Jemima Goldsmith from 1995 to 2004.

Khan, who is a good friend of Elizabeth Hurley, has previously been linked with Susannah Constantine, an English fashion guru, and style advisor.

Shilpa Shetty’s popularity has soared overnight in the UK; her popularity at a recent Bollywood Awards show held there was for all to see. She’s planning to open restaurants in London, hob-nob with British filmmakers, and probably buy a plush property there at some point. So that makes us wonder… when will the Big Brother babe move into the renowned wax museum - Madame Tussauds? Now that she’s become a desi hot-favourite amongst Bollywood fans out there and a huge population of Brits, too, we won’t be surprised if Shilpa walks in high and proud into the wax museum of famed celebrities and beauties. The Big B, Ash and SRK could do with more beautiful company, right? The more the merrier…

Shilpa Shetty seems to be getting luckier with every passing day. The latest is that the actress has bagged a role opposite Hollywood actor Keanu Reeves. Even as Raj Kumar Santoshi plans his Ramayan with Ajay Devgan and Kajol as Ram and Sita, US-based Gujarati entrepreneur Uru Patel is all set to make his long-cherished dream project, Hanuman.

The enterprising Patel has roped in Hollywood’s resident pin-up boy Keanu Reeves to play Rama. After considering a number of top-notch leading ladies, including Aishwarya Rai, for the part of Sita, Patel has finally zeroed in on Shilpa Shetty for the coveted part.

Luis Mandoki, who directed Meg Ryan as Andy Garcia’s alcoholic wife in When A Man Loves A Woman and Kevin Costner-Robin Wright Penn in the romantic weepie, Message In A Bottle, has been roped in to direct this multi-million international take on Hanuman, expected to be the most expensive film on an Indian theme ever.

A source very close to the project says, “Patel has worked for almost five years to get every detail right. The special effects will be at par with those in Spiderman. He chose Keanu Reeves because of his angelic face. Shilpa, of course is the international face of India now, and thus a natural choice to play the mythological character… After Keanu and Shilpa do Rama and Sita, the Ramayan will never be the same again,” chuckles the source.

The project is expected to take off early next year.

What does a relationship mean to you?
You are referring to a serious relationship involving a boyfriend? Well, it’s very important. I would like to nurture one such relationship and have it culminate in marriage. But a relationship has to involve the right person. I do believe in the institution of marriage, although it’s dying. I’d like to believe that my karma will allow me to have a successful marriage.

How open have you been about your relationships?
I don’t like talking about my love life. The day I feel it is the right time to make an announcement, I will be the first to talk about it. But at this point in time I can’t talk about romance because I don’t know where my life is headed.

Are you single?
Yes, I am single and already mingling.

Who will get married first, Shamita or you?
I don’t know.

Do actresses go on a signing spree when they turn 30?
Personally, I have been there, done that. I don’t think that I need to carve a niche for myself, I have already done that. So, whether my films do well at the box-office or not will not affect my position. But I have to ensure that I don’t drop below my own expected standard of work. Honestly, there are very few good films to choose from.

You recently signed Anurag Basu’s Metro opposite Shiney Ahuja and Kay Kay Menon. Both your co-actors are not big commercial stars. Does that bother you?
I feel that Shiney and Kay Kay are brilliant actors and they command their niche audience. It’s unfair to compare them to other actors.

It’s said that you have become a big fan of Dharmendra after working with him in Anil Sharma’s Apne
I have always been a huge fan of Dharamji. We have grown up watching his films. He was one of the most good-looking heroes of his time. He is a complete charmer. This is the first time I got to act with Dharamji and it was a learning experience. He continues to be one of the most dedicated actors. He has been in this industry for so long but he still sees his shot in the monitor and even rehearses his lines. The kind of respect he commands is mind-blowing. Dharamji exudes tremendous warmth. I really adore him.

Your film Shaadi Karke Phas Gaya with Salman Khan is ready for release at last. Why did it take so long?
I don’t know. I think there were problems with the producer. It’s a nice film, with good songs. I wish it works.

You were recently in East Africa. What were you doing there?
I went there for a show, after that I took my mom out for sight-seeing. She always complains that I never take her sight-seeing, so this time I took her out.

After a year filled with scandals and controversies, Shilpa Shetty finally decided to put the past behind her, as she celebrated her birthday last month. “I blew all the controversies away,” she laughs loudly. “I decided to keep out of the limelight, and wait till they passed by. Public memory is short.” One such controversy landed her in jail when a Chennai magazine had a picture of her showing her navel. “Which era are we living in? We live in a country where the national dress is the sari. It shows the navel all the time. Ban the sari, then,” says Shilpa. “But the courts were not to blame. In this country, they have to take the PIL seriously. But thank god it wasn’t a non-bailable warrant,” she says.

Has her work suffered due to this unwanted publicity? “It wasn’t as if I wasn’t offered exciting work. But somehow all those projects fell through at the last minute. I’ve just completed Anil Sharma’s Apne. It’s a big film because all the Deols - Dharamji, Sunny and Bobby are in it. I have also signed a new film with Anurag Basu called Metro.” Shilpa’s last release Dus got her the label of the desi Angelina Jolie. “It was a great role. I loved my power-packed, actionoriented performance in the film. ” Is there any romantic alliance between the Dus director and her? “See, one more controversy! I have nothing to do with this, please. He’s a dear friend of mine, I won’t deny that. But I’m certainly not involved with him. The only man in her life - her dad.

It’s not just Shamita Shetty who’s apparently seeing Delhi dude Sanjeev Nanda. Now the buzz is that Shilpa’s love is a Dilli ka munda too…

Lissome sisters, Shilpa and Shamita Shetty certainly seem to love the capital a lot. And their reasons are more than just patriotic. Mumbai’s social circuit has been buzzing with news of younger sis Shamita seeing businessman Sanjeev Nanda from Delhi. Now the grapevine has it that older sis Shilpa is supposedly dating financial consultant Abhay Sohi, who’s also from Delhi. He was earlier linked to Pooja Bedi. Shamita of course has denied the link up with Nanda. So what does Shilpa have to say to the buzz?