Tabu

Tabu (born Tabassum Hashmi on November 4, 1970) in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India) is an award-winning Indian actress who has acted in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil films. She has won the coveted National Film Award for Best Actress twice.

She is best known for her critically acclaimed acting in many films rather than achieving box office success.

She is the niece of Shabana Azmi and the younger sister of actress Farha.She is the life member of International Film And Television Club of Asian Academy Of Film and Television, Noida.

Sushmita Sen

Date of Birth : 19 November 1975, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India
Birth Name : Sushmita Shubeer Sen
Nickname : Titu Sush Sush
Height : 5' 10½" (1.79 m)

Sushmita was born in the Bengali-speaking Sen family on November 19, 1975 in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India. Her family consists of her dad, Shubeer, a former Indian Air Force Wing Commander; mom, Subhra, Jewelry Designer and owner of a Dubai-based store. She has two siblings, a sister named Neelam, who is married to Nauman Malik, and a brother named Rajeev. Subhra's dad was a poet.

She attended different schools in Jorhat, and Nagpur, but spend the majority of her schooling days in the Air Force Golden Jubilee Institute and Air Force Silver School in Delhi. She was regarded as a tomboy and spent most of her times with boys. Since the schools were Hindi medium, she could not speak English until she was 16 years of age. She subsequently not only mastered English, but became an English Honors student, and also obtained a degree in Journalism. Due to her place of birth she can speak Urdu flawlessly.

Her first public appearance was at the Air Force Club Contest at the age of 15. She did a few fashion shows thereafter. Then during 1994 she decided to be a participant in Miss India beauty pageant, fully aware that she was being pitted against the reigning favorite, Aishwarya Rai. Sushmita took everyone by surprise when she was crowned Miss India while Aishwarya had to content with being the First Runner-up. Both beauties went on to win Miss Universe and Miss World titles respectively. Ironically the final outfit for Miss Universe for Sushmita was made by a little-known Meena Bazar tailor, and her mom.

It was during 1996 that she first appeared as herself in a Bollywood movie titled 'Dastak'. Though the movie did not fare too well, she was noticed and thus began her career on the silver screen. She has since then portrayed herself in a variety of characters and also some 'item' numbers.

Not considered a classic beauty and leading quite an unconventional lifestyle she ended up in many relationships but did not marry anyone. She wanted to be a mother and to adopt a baby girl, and name her Renee. Since she is single, she had to fight a Court battle before she could finally adopt Renee. Finally on 13 April 2000 she was given the go-ahead to adopt her, even though the family-owned business in Dubai was already re-named as 'Renee' quite ironically a year earlier on 13 April 1999.

she is : -

Miss Universe 1994
Miss India 1994
Has an adopted daughter by the name of Renee.
She is the first Indian to win a Miss Universe Title in 1994.
She won the best supporting actress award in the year 2000 for her role in 'Biwi No. 1' which was the biggest hit of 1999.
Enjoys writing prose and poetry.
Listed as number 10 of 'Top Bollywood Actresses' of 2006. (rediff.com, 8-25-2006)

she thinks : -

"I have many memorable moments in my treasure-chest of memories but the day I became a mother is something special. On June 30, 2000 the courts handed me my daughter, Renee. I was ecstatic that day. I loved Renee from the first time I laid eyes on her. In court the fight was a tough one as I was a single parent and a celebrity, so those were marks against me. But I still won and got my daughter." (Movie Mag International, July 2004)

"I am totally a beach person. I love South America and I've been there lots of times, specially Venezuela and Brazil. They are great vacation cities. There is not a single country in South America that I have not been to. Among the places I haven't seen but which I would love to visit, Spain tops my list." (Movie Mag International, July 2004)

"Yes, I am a night person but I prefer staying awake at home till late at night. I rarely go to any pub. I would rather hang out at home with loud music and dance in my room. Abroad I love going to restaurants like 'Sky Bar' in Los Angeles and 'Tao' in New York." (Movie Mag International, July 2004)

Her thoughts about touring: "Doing these kind of shows take a lot of planning and activity and ends up being extremely hectic. So to revive myself, I look for those small moments that make you forget the rigors of the tour." (Lifeline magazine, Fall 2006)

"Between 18 to 20, I really thought there were fun things in life that I would much rather be doing than worrying about the responsibilities of that magnitude. But now at 30, I feel I was able to get a jump-start on my life and have achieved a lot. I don't feel I missed out anything." (Lifeline magazine, Fall 2006)

"I feel I started my life when I won at Goa - The Miss India contest. Then another memorable moment was when I won the Miss Universe crown in Manila. There have been several others. But none of those moments compare to what I felt on July 31 in 2001. That was when the court gave me Renee's adoption rights. Renee means "to be born again", and after having her in my life, I feel reborn. I don't want anything to go wrong for her ever. So I am that much more careful with my life now. No more rash driving. Being a mother, I don't think anything has topped the moment yet." (Lifeline magazine, Fall 2006)

"The reason why I wanted to be famous! No one's asked me that one so I am going to tell it now. I have always thought that a person is born, lives his life, goes through life in a certain way, maybe does some good things that everyone applauds... maybe your family, maybe your friends. But when you die, you want to have touched a few more lives. You want people to feel the loss when you go and miss you. I want to be famous because I want my fans to become my extended family." (Lifeline magazine, Fall 2006)

On how she would react if a woman made a pass on her: "I'd say, 'thank you'. Another human being likes you, what's wrong with that? How far they like you is again, their problem, not yours. That woman has made a choice of being with another woman, I have made mine to be with a man. It's just a difference in our sexual preferences. Doesn't mean one is acceptable and the other is appalling. Absolutely not!" (Stardust magazine, September 2006)

"If the need arises and my heart doesn't agree with it (marriage), I will have children without getting married." (Stardust magazine, September 2006)

"Today if you take a poll asking men if they want to be with women who are 30 and virgins, they will run away." (Stardust magazine, September 2006)

When asked if sex is over-rated in India: "There was a time when it definitely was, not anymore. It was something you didn't talk about, and from the face of it, people from good families probably never did it. But today, media primarily focuses its attention on sex, so much that it's inevitable that it would become a part of the social structure. It's not like it didn't exist before, we're the land of the KamaSutra. Today, people are more comfortable talking about it." (Stardust magazine, September 2006)

"I'm 30, and enjoying every bit of it. I haven't changed a thing that I don't like wearing and the only reason I don't wear it is 'coz I don't like it on myself. I reveal when I feel like it. Today I do, tomorrow, I might not. It's about freedom of choice, not age. All power to people who understand that ultimately, clothes are going on your body. If you are comfortable with it, wear it. I'm not judgmental about the way people dress. What disturbs me however, is if after you've worn it, you're constantly talking, pulling, figuring yourself out. Thats disturbing." (Stardust magazine, September 2006)

Sophiya chaudhary

Sophiya Chaudhary is an bollywood actress, singer and a popular MTV VJ.Sophie is a linguist, and speaks English, Hindi, Urdu and French. She sings in these languages as well as in Spanish, Punjabi and Arabic. Sophie was born in UK. Her father adored Sophia Loren and hence her birth name is "Sophia", however she now goes by the name "Sophie".

She was a performer from a young age: a part of the school choir and playing the lead role in school and college musicals. Her talent was discovered by the acclaimed music director Biddu when she was 13 years old. She started her career by singing back up for Shweta Shetty and Alisha Chinai.

Sophie was a brilliant student. Reportedly, before her 'A' levels her headmistress actually called in her mum, and told her that Sophie needed a holiday! She attended one of the best Private Schools in England, where she indulged not only in Drama, Theater, Music and Sports but also debate. She began debating from the age of 11 on issues ranging from the right of Abortion, smoking in public, to the benefits of E.U. She captained her inter school debate team.

Sophie got 4 'A's in her A level examinations; French, History, Italian and Drama and also achieved an A grade in 'AS level' maths. She then went onto become part of the prestigious London School of Economics in a course which has room for only 13 students; European Politics and French. As part of her degree Sophie studied for nearly two years at "Sciences-Po" in Paris, the most prized political institute, from which all French Prime ministers and Presidents have graduated.

She was the only Indian student in the entire college, and almost all the other students were of French origin. Nonetheless despite the odds, she topped her "Geo-political class and exam". She went on to write a 10,000word dissertation in French on the role of women in the French Resistance and got a "First" for it.Having completed her education, Sophie decided it was time to follow her dreams and she began her singing career. She moved to Mumbai in 2003, became an MTV VJ and a successful singer.

She is trained in classical Indian dance, Bharatnatyam, Kathak and street dance.Sophie has also compared various award shows such as Star Screen Awards and several corporate events for Airtel, Tata, Godrej and many others.She hosted MTV Loveline. She made her debut in 2000 with her all-girl band "Sansara" with a song which Sophie herself wrote ("Yeh Dil Sun Raha Hai"). Her videos "Habibi" and "Le Le Mera Dil" were popular. She has performed from in many Indian cities, as well as in Montreal and London's Wembley Arena.In November 2003, she released her first super-hit remix album "Sophie & Dr. Love"; Mera Babu Chail Chabila. The album was a chart-topper for six months in India and broke records in the U.K Asian Pop Charts by holding the number 1 spot for 12 weeks.

The album contained old classics by Runa Laila, Nazia Hassan and Salma Agha. The video was directed by Rao and Sapru of Kaanta Laga fame and music remixed by Harry Anand.Less than one year on, Sophie returned with her newest offering "Babylove"; Ek Pardesi Mera Dil Legaya. According to Sophie, she listened to over 400 songs in order to come up with her perfect 12. Songs on this album include Dil Ke Armaan, Ghar aaya Mera Pardesi, Bachke Rehna re baba, Zoobi Zoobi, Naulakha, and Jaadugar Saiyyan.

The Ek pardesi video showed Sophie as glamorous and endearing. This was followed up by videos of Jaadugar Saiyyan and nine other short videos from the album including the songs Naulakha, Dil ke Arman, the hip hop Kissiko, Saiyyan le Gayi Jiya and many more.In October 2004, she won the Lycra MTV style award for "Most stylish female in music". In January 2005, she won the Bollywood award for Best pop Singer, at the Bollywood Awards held in Dubai Global Village in January 2005.

She made her Hindi film debut in David Dhawan's film "Shaadi No.1" in which she is paired opposite Zayed Khan. The film also stars Fardeen Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Esha Deol and others. The film was released on 4th November, and had a great response.Her recent film is ; Pyar ke Side Effects which is PNC film (Pritsh Nandy Communications Production) co-starring Rahul Bose and Mallika Sherawat.

And a film titled Speed directed by Vikram Bhatt in which Sophie stars alongside Urmila Matondkar, Zayed Khan and Aftab Shivdasani is on the verge of releasing.Talks are currently on for a few more films; Bollywood, Indo-Pak and Indo-British projects. Sophie is also in the process of recording her next album due for release 2006 Diwali.

Sonali kulkarni

Date of Birth : 1974, Poona, Maharashtra, India
Height : 5' 3" (1.60 m)

Sonali was born in the Marathi-speaking Kulkarni family in Pune, Maharashtra, India. Her dad is an Engineer, and she has two brothers, Sandeep and Sandesh.

Even she was a child her passion was acting, and got her chance to act during the Ganesh Mahotsav celebrations. She was enrolled in the Abhinav Vidhyalaya in Pune, and after completing schooling attended Ferguson College, where she majored in Political Science and got a scholarship in Marathi literature. She used to speak Hindi, Marathi and English fluently, but since then also picked-up Gujarati, Italian, and Tamil.

After attending a workshop by Satyadev Dubey she and Sandesh formed a theater group and called it 'Samanvay'.

She first made her appearance on the tinsel screen in a Tamil movie titled 'Cheluvi', and thereafter has appeared in a total of 32 movies, including one in Italian titled 'Fuoco Si Di Me'.
Apart from acting, she is also an Editor with 'Viva', a supplement of 'Loksatta', and pens a weekly column called 'So Kool'.

Sonali Kulkarni is an Indian actress.Sonali Kulkarni was born and brought up in Pune.She went to Abhinav Vidyalaya and was a fairly good student, always scoring 80s and 90s. She comes from an academically inclined family .Her dad is an engineer and her brothers are academically brilliant. She wanted to study in Ferguson College. She majored in Political Science from there and even got a scholarship in Marathi literature.

She worked with handicapped children in Balkayan Sanstha, Pune for 5 years as dance and entertainment teacher. These kids were physically or mentally challenged.
She always had a flair for learning languages. Being in the film industry gave her an opportunity to learn several including Gujarati, Italian and Tamil, apart from the ones she already knew like Marathi, Hindi and English.

Her earliest memories in the performing arts goes back to performing at Ganapathy Utsav - in a culturally active colony in Pune. She participated in everything, sports, music, dance and theatre. Her elder brother Sandeep was supportive for her pursuing theatre and is totally responsible for her foundation in theatre.

She got her first break in high school, when she attended a workshop by Satyadev Dubey and realised the importance of choosing one creative pursuit. It was then she decided to chose acting as her career option.She established a theater group along with her brother Sandesh inPune by the name "Samanvay". Samanvay is a group of people passionate about theatre - from acting to direction to production. Sandesh Kulkarni, Sonali Kulkarni, Amrita Subash, Nikhil Ratnaparkhi, Shashank Shende, Kiran, Nilesh Kulkarni and Sameer Doshi form Samanvay. Each person in the group is a name to reckon with today, in their respective specialities.

She did not realise when acting turned into her passion. While she was studying at Ferguson College, Pune, she got her first break in cinema - in Cheluvi, directed by well known playwright and filmmaker Girish Karnad.

She was just a teenager when she auditioned for Girish Karnad's Cheluvi (a fantasy about a girl who can become a tree). In Dr. Jabbar Patel's "Mukta", she played a character facing discrimination.She did not want to secure herself to one genre or language. She wanted to try new things and reach out to the whole world. She wanted to do 'world cinema'.

Sergio Scapagnini saw her first film "Cheluvi" at the Cannes Film Festival and as a result she got to work in Vrindavan Film Studios which was shot in India and abroad. Directed by Lamberto Lambertini, with an entirely Italian crew, this film had just three Indians in the cast, Mohan Agashe, Gautam Ghosh and Sonali Kulkarni.

After a couple of films in Tamil and Marathi, the turning point came when she landed the lead role in her first Hindi feature film "Daayraa". The film was directed by Amol Palekar. The film went on to win her the Best Actress Award in France International Film Festival.

Despite the critical acclaim and years of work in regional and parallel cinema, she didnot get the recognition until Mission Kashmir. Mission Kashmir was the turning point for her in that sense. The film had a national and international release. It brought her the kind of recognition that she could never have dreamed of. That year she was nominated for each and every award for that role.

Next "Dil Chahta Hai" was offered to her which helped her to get even more fame and established her as a heroine in Bollywood."Dil Chahta Hai" was a refreshing change for her.She appeared in several commercial films after that. Some of these films are-Dil Vil Pyar Vyar (2002), Junoon (2002), Kitne Door Kitne Paas (2002), Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya (2001), Agni Varsha (2002),Danav (2003), Silence Please... The Dressing Room (2004),Hanan (2004) ,Devrai (2004),Bride & Prejudice (2004),White Rainbow (2005) ,I see You(2006) ,Darna Zaroori Hai (2006) and Taxi Number 9211 (2006).

In Agni Varsha,her costumes were from that era - very basic, bare essential pieces of cloth. Initially she was a bit shy. But by the end of the first day, she was cool with it. She loved her character in the film - a simple woman who stands up for truth.

In the film "White Rainbow", directed by Dharan Mandrayer (nephew of legendary Tamil film thespian Sivaji Ganesan) is a touching story about the widows of Vrindavan. She plays the role of Priya, a character based on the real life social activist Mohini Giri who runs the Guild of Service in Vrindavan.

Sonali also worked in the Gujarati film "Love is Blind" which was released in Nov 2005. This refreshing film was made with an aim to draw audiences back to regional cinema. This humorous film with rocking music has been a hit with the Gujaratis - young and old. Directed by Vipul Shah and produced by R H Kampani of Nugget Entertainments Co., Her co-star in the film is Sandeep Patel, brother of the famous singer Devang Patel.

She has also worked in the Italian film "Fuoco Di Su Me" (transalates to Fire at my Heart) and being a stranger to the language made it both interesting and exciting.It was her work in "The Vrindavan Film Studio" several years ago that got her the role. Working on it has been a fabulous experience for her , especially with Omar Sherif as part of the cast. Shot mostly in Procida, Italy, it required her to learn Italian and get her accent right a month before shooting began. Sonali Kulkarni has won the best actress award at the Milan Film Festival for her performance in the film Fuoco Su Di Me (My Heart Is On Fire) on April 12, 2006.

Released in March 2006, Taxi No. 9211 was a film she signed almost instantly after listening to the impactful narration by Milan Luthria, the director.She loved the story and her character in the film. The film totally reflects today's Bombay.Her role has been appreciated by fans and critics as well.

She was in Venice in Sep. 2005, where she had gone to attend the Red Carpet Grand Screening of her Italian film "Fuoco su di me" directed by by Lamberto Lambertini at the 62nd Venice Film Festival.

Her strength in cinema has always been doing a variety of roles. From a tree in Cheluvi, to a boy in Daayra, from an innocent kid sister in Doghi, to a spicy wife in Taxi No. 9211, She has always offered variety to her audience.

Sonali's home is a place to relax for her.Rangoli, thorans, bells, lamps and fancy curtains adorn her flat. Her creativity was at its peak when doing up her place and she loved every moment of the four months it took.

When She is not shooting, her day begins with pranayams followed by tea.She also loves to read and write in her leisure. She also loves cooking. But her favorite food is her mom's traditional recipes. She also has ten minutes of meditation before lunchtime as she believes that it is very refreshing for the mind.

She is also a guest editor of Loksatta's supplement Viva. Its an Express group daily. She writes one column each week. It is published every Thursday. Her column is called So Kool, which is an abreviation of her name.

Sonali bendre

Date of Birth : 1 January 1975, Bombay, India
Height : 5' 8" (1.73 m)

Sonali Bendre started out as a model before being selected for the "Stardust Talent Search". She was invited to Bombay and received training from a variety of top actors and performers of the Indian film industry. Sonali has three sisters and was in her own words a quiet child who loved to read, while she was growing up. Since her debut in 1994, Sonali has appeared in several films and has starred opposite top stars such as Sunjay Dutt, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh. Sonali was also awarded the price of "Newcomer of the year" in 1995. She married Goldie Behl in 2002, and during 2005 became a mother.

Sonali Bendre started out as a model before being selected for the "Star Dust Talent Search". Her first role was in Aag (1994) opposite Govinda. Though she initially struggled to be a successful actress, she has eventually given critical acclaim for her performances in films like Sarfarosh (1999), Zakhm, Duplicate, Hum Saath Saath Hai (1999), Tera Mera Saath Rahey and Anaahat (2003) among many others.

She has starred with many of the leading actors of Bollywood including Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, Aamir Khan and Salman Khan. In 1995 she won the Filmfare Lux New Face Award. In 2001 she also won the Star Screen Award Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai where she co-starred with Anil Kapoor and Aishwarya Rai. She was the only cast member who won the award. She was also appreciated for her comic performances in films like Love Ke Liye Kuchh Bhi Karega
Next to her well-received performances, she was also recognized as a graceful dancer through films like Bombay, Lajja and Major Saab to name a few.

On November 16, 2001 she married film producer Goldie Behl. She has acted in a few Marathi, Telugu and Kannada movies and has been successful. She also hosted the 50th Filmfare Awards alongside Saif Ali Khan and Farida Jalal on February 26, 2005.
On August 11, 2005 she gave birth to a son, Ranvir, in Beach Candy Hospita

Soha Ali Khan

Date of Birth : 4 October 1978, New Delhi, India
Height : 5' 2½" (1.59 m)

Soha Ali Khan is the daughter of Bollywood actress, Sharmila Tagore, who is also the Chair of the Indian Censor Board. Soha is the daughter of cricketer Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi. She is also the sister of Bollywood actor, Saif Ali Khan, and former sister-in-law of Bollywood actress, 'Amrita Singh' , who has since been separated from Saif Ali Khan.

Her father, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, the current nawab, is a former captain of the Indian cricket team. Her mother, Sharmila Tagore, is a noted film actress, and a distant relative (not a direct descendant, as often supposed) of the nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. Soha is also related to the late Nafisa Joseph. Her brother is actor Saif Ali Khan.
She was born in Mumbai and at the age of six shifted to delhi. She studied at British School and use to study hard to get good marks. She enjoyed sports and theatre. Then she did her under graduate at Oxford and master's at London School of Economics in International Relations. Studying abroad has given her international outlook and understand and be tolerant towards other cultures.

She has been brought up in liberal way, where ever to travel, think and have friends she wants. She was quite a hyperactive child. Very friendly and outgoing always running from one place to another. But never bothered about appearances. She didn't wear too much jewellery nor was colour coordinated.

While studying she know exactly that she wanted to be in films in terms of career. She know if started acting before accomplishing her academy, then it wouldn't be possible for her to go back to studying. Her parents had the typical normal parental concerns about joining the films. When she was 12, she meant to play the child in Mira Nair's "Mississippi Masala" and taken two months leave from school also. But couldn't do the film because she had to get braces.
Soha made her acting debut with the Bollywood production "Dil Maange More" (2004), where she shared credits with Shahid Kapoor and two other leading ladies which were Tulip Joshi and Ayesha Takia . Starting off weakly, she has since received critical acclaim for her performances in the Bengali film "Antar Mahal" (2005) and "Rang De Basanti" (2006).Her next release is the eagerly awaited "Khoya Khoya Chand".

Before embarking upon her film career, Soha worked for the Ford Foundation and Citibank. She is involved in a range of activities outside the acting world, including serving on the Advisory Board for a new project of the public entrepreneur group, Res Publica. She has also recently modeled for the spring-summer collection of Globus, an Indian chain of boutiques.

Shilpa sheety

Shilpa Shetty (born 8 June 1975) in Mangalore is a four-time Filmfare Award-nominated Indian film actress and model.She currently resides at the centre of the Hindi-language film industry in Mumbai, India. Both of them worked together in the film Fareb (2005)Shetty currently lives in Mumbai with her parents and sister.

Her younger sister Shamita Shetty is also a Bollywood film actress.Shilpa was crowned the winner of the British Celebrity Big Brother on 28 January 2007 with 63% of the final vote,after an international racism controversy involving her and fellow contestants Jade Goody, Jo O'Meara and Danielle Lloyd.Shilpa Shetty was born in a strict and traditional close-knit family that hails from the Bunt community of South Canara/Mangalore, although she was born in Mangalore.

She is the eldest daughter of Surendra and Sunanda Shetty, manufacturers of tamper-proof caps for the pharmaceutical industry,and her native language is Tulu although she can speak nearly ten other languages including English, Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Gujarati, Telugu, Tamil, Urdu and basic French.She attended St. Anthony Girls' High School, located in Chembur, and later attended Podar College.

She is a trained Bharatanatyam dancer. She is also into sports and was the captain of the baseball team in school and earned a black belt in Karate and currently a dance sport expert and enthusiast..Shetty started her career by modelling for Limca in 1991 at age 16, and made her film debut in 1993 at age 17 in Baazigar.

Although she was a supporting actress alongside Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, the film was a major success and earned her a nomination for the 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.

1997 was one of her busiest years yet, 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. In 1998, she had one release, Pardesi Babu (co-starring Raveena Tandon and Govinda), for which she received critical acclaim and won best supporting actressIn 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 awards ceremonies, although she lost them to Karisma Kapoor. She would later go on to star with Kapoor in the film Rishtey (2002). Her performance as an eccentric fisherwoman was appreciated and she received a nomination under the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award category.2004 was also a good year for Shetty with the release of Garv opposite Salman Khan.

She received much acclaim for her performance in Phir Milenge after a sensitive portrayal of a successful city high-flyer who contracts HIV via unprotected sex and becomes a social outcast as a result. This film earned Shetty a Filmfare Best Actress nomination, and also provided an impetus for her HIV-related charity work.

The actress was also a guest judge on the Indian Idol television show. 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 wife with negative shades. In 2006, she was a judge on Jhalak Dikhlaja, a Sony Entertainment Television dance show .

Shetty was a contestant in and the winner of Celebrity Big Brother UK. and is the first Indian celebrity included in the Celebrity version. She was reportedly paid Rs.31.5m (£367,500) for her participation, Shetty won the contest after gaining 63% of the public vote .She was also the subject of a Sky One documentary entitled "The Real Shilpa Shetty", which was produced by British television production company Twofour.

Shilpa Shetty has always been a centre of several controversies.The large number of commercial offers that Shilpa received after winning Celebrity Big Brother themselves became reason for controversy with an increasing number of accusations about her riding the 'racism' wave to commercial gain.On 27 March 2007 News of the World, National Tabloid, UK had reported information about her date with Akshay Kumar back in 1999.

Accordingly, someone very close to both Shilpa and Akshay has revealed private information that was kept as a secret from many people including Shilpa's parents. On April 15th, Richard Gere kissed her several times in a stage show, thus creating another controversy.In May 2003 a controversy erupted over alleged links between Shetty's parents and the Indian underworld.

The Surat police issued arrest warrants against her parents on charges of extortion.In April 2006, a Madurai court issued non-bailable warrants against Shetty and Reema Sen for "posing in an obscene manner" in photographs published by a Tamil newspaper.Her first release after the reality show got a great opening. The movie, Life In A... Metro became the first Bollywood movie to premiere at Leicester Square.Danielle Lloyd was also invited by the actress to attend the premiere.

As well as modeling and acting, Shetty has associated herself with several other commercial and non-profit organizations.In February 2006 Shetty lent her support to a BBC World Service Trust television show designed to tackle the problem of HIV-AIDS in India. In March 2006 various sources reported Shetty's joining PETA as part of an advertising campaign against the use of wild animals in circuses.

According to a PETA India press release, Shetty is a long-time PETA supporter and has assisted the campaign by posing for photographs in a figure-hugging tiger costume. In May 2006 , it was announced that Shetty would be the brand ambassador of Romanov Vodka. Sami Lala, President of United Spirits, said that Shetty was chosen for her status as an "aspirational icon", and that her "innate style, energy and attitude highlight the core attributes of the brand.

Shetty is a frequent subject of speculation regarding romance.However, she has remained tight-lipped whenever questions of marriage are posed to her. Her previous relationships include an affair with actor Akshay Kumar, whom she met on the Main Khiladi Tu Anari set in 1994.

The couple split in 2000 after he started dating Shetty's friend and fellow actress Twinkle Khanna .She is also linked with Anubhav Sinha.In an interview for the Sunday Mirror a friend of Shetty revealed 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.Shetty has stated that she plans to marry in three years and would love to adopt a teenage daughter.