One year after winning UK’s Celebrity Big Brother show, Brand Shilpa is on the go, trawling along the rocky road to international fame with fierce determination.
Despite a shaky start, some bad press, a couple of court cases and the wobbly PR stunt with Richard Gere, Shilpa Shetty’s PR machine has rolled into action once again and is spreading the good news of her new relationship with London-based businessman Raj Kundra and the release of her new fitness DVD called “Shilpa’s Yoga”.
Challenges aside, 2007 has been kind to the actress who has been struggling to get the roles and the recognition she seeks in Bollywood. Her dramatic stay at the Celebrity Big Brother house got her a piece of the international limelight that actresses like Aishwarya Rai Bachchan have been enjoying for some time. Her name was picked up by international media and for a short while it was “en vogue” to be seen with her. Shilpa’s acting career, however, had been fledgling in Bollywood for quite a while and it was only a matter of time that the international media would find out that she didn’t have much to show when it came to prove her ‘Bollywood A-list’ status.
Wagging tongues were stopped with the release of Anurag Basu’s film “Life in a … Metro”. Even the UK press, who grown somewhat weary of Shilpa’s overexposure, had to admit that she did a good acting job and the film was a moderate success internationally. Back home, Shilpa’s performance was praised to be her best to date.
The Perfume
Even though her movie appearances are not bringing her the roaring success she desires, Shilpa the businesswoman is hard at work constructing her international star image. In summer 2007 she boldly joined the ranks of the likes of Kylie Minogue and Jennifer Lopez and launched her perfume “S2″. A strategic triumph, especially since Jade Goody’s perfume “Shh..” was dropped by perfumery chains following the Big Brother controversy, “S2″ is the first perfume by a Bollywood star available on the international market.
The musical
Unable to follow up her recent success with another movie hit (probably due to the lack of good film offers), Shilpa next surprised European NRI audiences with her musical production “Miss Bollywood”, a “celebration of Bollywood kitsch and splendour” that featured the actress in a weak stage plot and a number of “item numbers”.
After cancelled shows in Germany which left her European fans dissappointed, her PR machine rolled once again into action and the show toured the UK to moderate success.
A new man and a Yoga DVD
Undeterred in her ambition to become an international star and glowing with the public announcement of her relationship with London-based businessman Raj Kundra (who, by the way, is rumoured to be the man and the bank account behind her perfume and her her musical), Shilpa has now released a fitness DVD called ‘Shilpa’s Yoga’.
Targeted at the European market and built around her inofficial title of having ‘the best bod in Bollywood’, the DVD reveals her fitness secrets to create a lean and toned body while retaining feminine curves.
With careful and precise instructions, the DVD demonstrates specific sequences that enhance concentration, agility and flexibility. The workout aims not only to strengthen and tone, but also to heal.
“It showcases the right techniques of doing ashtanga yoga including breathing techniques. Shilpa has been a regular practitioner of yoga from four years, but took special added intensive training from yoga trainers Shiv Kumar Mishra and Vinayak Dixit for some time, making sure she perfected the asans before demonstrating them to the world,” says her publicist Dale Bhagwagar.
Shot at the backwaters in Kerala, ‘Shilpa’s Yoga’ is directed by Manish Jha (of the critically-acclaimed feature films ‘Matrabhoomi’ and ‘Anwar’ fame). To go with the mood and feel, the package also contains a free lounge music CD with compositions by Pankaj Awasthi . This is to help unwind and relax after practicing the yoga techniques.
Released by Firefly Entertainment , the DVD is produced by Shilpa’s newly launched production house ‘S2 Global Productions’.
What next?
Shilpa’s future projects include Sunny Deol’s film ‘The Man’ (co-directed by Sunny and Neeraj Pathak), an international venture ‘Hanuman’ produced by Uru Patel (where she will play the role of Goddess Sita), a cookery book tentatively titled ‘Soul Curry’ and a signature clothing line in Europe – and perhaps a wedding
Source: Drdesi.com