Interview: Shilpa Shetty

SHILPA SHETTY tells Pratim D. Gupta about being the new face of India in the West, going full-on Bollywood at the IIFA weekend and the secret behind her body beautiful

Metro premiered in London and Sydney. Now Apne will be screened at the IIFA weekend in Yorkshire. Despite the all-star cast, it’s all very much about you...
Well, it’s not going to be a premiere this time. It will be a preview of Apne. I am quite looking forward to it and I am also looking forward to IIFA as a whole. I will be performing there, I will be tossing the coin for the exhibition cricket match and I will also be celebrating my birthday (June 8) there.

And you will be performing for the first time after Celebrity Big Brother…
Yes. I had performed just once at IIFA. That was four years ago in South Africa. This time it’s going to be in the UK and that’s why it is so much more exciting for me because so many things have happened for me in the UK (laughs). This will be for all those people who have wanted to see me dancing. So this is my ode to them. I will be dancing to all the hits this year. I want to show them the true Bollywood razzmatazz.

Isn’t it strange that your huge fan following in the UK have never really seen you doing what you do?
(Laughs) They haven’t seen me doing what I actually do and what is my forte. Metro released there and that’s a very different kind of a film, not the usual Indian films I have done here.

There is talk of you having had no bearing on the box-office collections of Metro…
The response has been phenomenal for Metro. And I just got informed today (Sunday) that Metro is a certified hit. So I am very, very happy (laughs).

How does it feel to represent the entire film industry across the globe?
All these promotions and premieres have been put on my head. I am quite grateful to the audiences for recognising Indian cinema. There is a certain kind of intrigue attached to Indian cinema… And I am lucky that I have been able to make a mark for myself. I am very proud that I belong to this milieu.

Is it a burden taking ‘Incredible India’ everywhere?
No, I take it as a huge compliment. But it was never meant to be so. It just happened. The sequence of events… I am quite happy. I am very proud that the Indian film industry is churning out some great movies. And it needs to be projected in the West.

You signed Metro and Apne before Big Brother. Would you sign such ensemble
films now?
I do films for different reasons. I did Apne because it had a great script and it was being directed by Anil Sharma. He had made Gadar and I have a lot of respect for him. It’s also a casting coup, you know, Dharamji, Sunny and Bobby together in the same film. I am someone who loves cinema. If I was only bothered about doing single-heroine films, then I wouldn’t be part of a Metro or a film like Dus. I have always been part of films which have allowed me to play characters that are different.

But Apne is all about the men…
It’s a complete commercial venture and a big-budget movie. I play this traditional Indian girl who is an ideal homemaker. She is modern and is married to the family, more than being married to the man. My role may not be that long but my character is very strong, of a modern Indian woman.

But can you possibly now do a film not revolving around you?
In the past couple of years, I have become selective. That is why I haven’t been signing films too much. And my hands are really full right now (laughs). I have my musical. I have a couple of other things in the UK. I have a couple of British films that have been offered to me.

So is it bye, bye Bollywood?
No. I will be doing one Hindi film next year. And I will do one of the British films being offered to me. But I haven’t finalised which one in either of the cases.

And will you be dividing time between India and the UK?
Definitely. I will have to do that because I have so much work at both places.

Have you bought property in the UK?
Not yet.

Finally, you still have the most amazing body in Bollywood. What is the big secret?
Thank you (laughs). You won’t believe me but I am genetically blessed. I don’t really have to work so hard on my body. But I believe in promoting healthy eating and healthy living. And I am a big one for cardios. At least two days a week, doing cardios is very important. But with my erratic schedule now, I have not been able to do that also.