Srinivas Padma: Personal Musings on Life, Growth, and Connections

Less than a year after Shilpa Shetty became the victim of racial slur in Britain, two of Bollywood's leading actors have claimed that they're also racially abused while filming in the country. "Sexiest Asian Woman" Bipasha Basu and her co-actor Arshad Warsi were verbally roughed up by a group of white men while they had been shooting a scene for their latest film Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal near Glassy Junction, a popular Indian pub in Southall, west London, some months back. "I was shocked. I'm not used to this sort of thing. A car stopped with a couple of white guys. They just lashed out at us. For me it was an alien thing. It was like, do people actually think like that?" the media reported on Sunday, quoting Warsi as saying here. Even fellow actor John Abraham, who was also present on the sets of the film at that time, has said he's astonished too. "When you come to London and you are shooting, it's the last thing you expect," he sai...

Sunny Deol will be directing Shilpa Shetty in his home production, The Man . This is the first film Shilpa has signed after the success of Celebrity Big Brother . Her publicist Dale Bhagwagar confirmed the news saying, "Yes, Shilpa will indeed be directed by Sunny and Neeraj Pathak in The Man. It will be fun for her as Sunny has been her co-star in more than three films and she admires him too." Her last release Apne was with the Deols too, though it was completed before her CBB participation. When we probed further on Shilpa's other projects, Bhagwagar said, "I can't reveal the names of makers who have approached Shilpa, but I can tell you that there are many. There are offers from the UK, the US and Bollywood. Shilpa is going through a dozen scripts at the moment and you will hear some very interesting announcements soon. Apart from The Man, she has also given the nod to Uru Patel's international venture Hanuman (where she would be playing the role of ...

Shilpa Shetty will launch her own production house S2 Productions to make her DVD video on yoga this month. "After her per fume S2 reached the number one slot on the UK perfume charts, Shilpa was thinking about what her next step should be. She wanted to do some thing she had not ventured i n t o before, when she hit upon the idea of producing her DVD video herself," informed her spokesperson and publicist Dale Bhagwagar. To be shot from August end for a week at the backwaters in Kerala, the yoga DVD video , span ning two hours, will be directed by Manish Jha (of the critically acclaimed feature films Matrubhoomi and Anwar fame). While Arghya Lahiri is writing the script for the video, the camera work will be handled by Englishman Jamie Sowlds. Currently, a team is in Kovalam scouting the best locations and backdrops for the shoot. The DVD video will concentrate on yoga, fitness and lifestyle and will be available in the UK and Duba...

Shilpa Shetty is not fighting off the men. She's single and ready to mingle," said her publicist and spokesper son Dale Bhagwagar, replying to the rumours of her impending mar riage to NRI business man Raj Kundra. "Mr Kundra is her friend and has helped her in the launch of her per fume S2 in the UK. But let me insist that the marriage rumours are speculato ry," he says. "Let her get the right guy and she will surely settle down. But right now, there isn't one," he adds. Do such stories upset Shilpa? "Yes, she does get a little upset at times, but I guess she is now coming to terms with the fact that such rumours are part and parcel of being an international celebrity," Bhagwagar observes. "Shilpa is a great human being and all the recent success and international stardom hasn't changed her nature at all. She remains the smiling, loving and affectionate down-to-earth girl," he remarks. When asked if h...

Bollywood film star Shilpa Shetty has been honoured with a degree by a university in Britain. The Leeds Metropolitan University on Wednesday honoured Shilpa for her outstanding contribution to cultural diversity. Thirty-two-year-old Shilpa was awarded an honorary bachelor in arts degree during the first day of the four-day summer graduation celebrations at the Leeds Metropolitan University. The university's vice-chancellor, Prof. Simon Lee, handed the honorary degree to Shilpa, who was dressed in the traditional graduation gown and cap. The Leeds Metropolitan University, which is the official education partner of the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA), had awarded filmstar Amitabh Bachchan an honorary degree before the IIFA weekend, held in Leeds in 2007. Talking about Mangalore-born Shilpa Shetty's grace and restraint during the Celebrity Big Brother series, Prof. Simon Lee said at the ceremony: "There are some parallels between the challenges faced in ...

After being pronounced winner of the British reality show Big Brother, Shilpa Shetty’s walking away with 1,00,000 pounds and plush assignments… Hyderabad Times celebrates her victory FROM an unrecognisable Bollywood celebrity in the UK to winning one of the greatest reality shows, with a racist controversy in between, Shilpa Shetty has certainly come a long way in the 26 days between January 4 till Sunday last. As the debate on whether or not it was a rigged victory continues, she’s certainly struck gold. And we are also talking of a sure leap from Bollywood to Hollywood, if speculations are to be believed. But first a quick recap. Enter Shilpa Shetty On day one, Shilpa became the first ever Indian to be a part of Big Brother, a reality show which was started seven years ago in Britain, cashing in on voyeurism and receiving huge following over the years. “The only thing I really hope to keep is my self-respect and dignity,” said a tense Shilpa before she entered house. Trouble brewing ...