In a gazebo, amidst green lemonade and hearty laughter, Shilpa Shetty changes my mind. About her. Bollywood celebrities tend to evoke strong reactions in people. You might love someone; you might, just as easily, hate someone else. Shilpa Shetty, more often than not, surfs on the fringes of these popularity pie charts. On one level, she has never evoked much feeling. She was just always... around. Actually, she was mostly around controversy, but that is a norm rather than the exception in our film industry. There are two things about her, however, that set her apart. One, she is a survivor. Two, she’s always had a great body.
A 17-year-old Shilpa was first seen in 1993 as a debutante running around a tree with Shah Rukh Khan in the blockbuster Baazigar. The 36-year-old Shilpa, sitting in her palatial bungalow on Juhu beach in a relaxed T-shirt and comfy pants, lets out a peal of laughter, “I wore a yellow, polka-dotted, frilly dress in Baazigar! Wait, it wasn’t even a dress. It was a frock. And at that time I thought that dress was the coolest and that I was the cat’s whiskers. I don’t understand what I was thinking.” Whatever reservations you might have about Shilpa pretty much disappear once you hear her laugh, and mostly at herself. Ask her what she’s most or least proud of in her 18-year-long career in and around the film industry, and she promptly answers the second part of the question first. “What I’m not proud of is some of my earlier work, and definitely some of the clothes I used to wear. I just switch off the TV when I see myself on it sometimes. I think I’ve done pretty well for myself, considering the kind of work I did. I saw some of my old movies recently and I was like, ‘Oh my God, how did people tolerate me!’
“But what I am proud of is the fact that I’m totally self-made. I did not hail from a film background. I come from a non-Hindi speaking, Mangalorean business family and I did not enter the industry thinking that I’d make a career out of it. The fact that I lasted so long is a huge compliment to someone like me.” Although her character in Baazigar was bumped off midway through the film, it earned her a nomination for Filmfare Best Supporting Actress, and planted her in the public consciousness. She followed it up with some forgettable and a few noteworthy performances. It isn’t a particularly sparkling career graph, but what no one can deny is that where other actresses have come and gone, Shilpa has somehow stuck around, wading through polka-dots, frizzy hair, sex-symbol tags, industry link-ups, round-the-tree jiving, comedies, dramas, multi-starrers, flops and hits. Till Big Brother happened.
“I think I might have survived this long because I don’t take myself so seriously,” she laughs again. “Also, I think what helped and what’s important is for people to have respect for you. Somewhere with all my years of work, I know from the kind of reaction I get from people, that they do have some respect for me. Even if I was a sex symbol, I did it with dignity. That wasn’t the image I wanted and I know when you have a glamorous persona, there is only that much you are expected to do. But I tried to break even that tag with films like Phir Milenge, Rishtey, Dus or Life In A… Metro. It was an uphill task for me, but I think I did pretty well for myself within the given parameters, or at least as well as I could do.” Another surprise is hearing her talk about fame. “I’m not going to be a hypocrite and say it’s not one of the reasons you get addicted to this line of work. It is, or it definitely has been for me. It’s such a beautiful feeling to be recognised by people you don’t know. That totally is a high. I wanted to be recognised and I knew the only way to get that would be to do good work. That’s what drove me always. I think any human being given the opportunity to be famous, would take it. To get famous doing something you love is just a double blessing. I don’t understand these people who say ‘Oh, now that I’m famous I can’t have bhelpuri on the street.’ I want to shake them and ask them, did they become actors because they wanted to be able to have bhelpuri on the street?” Another hearty guffaw.
Shilpa the actress might like to poke fun at herself, but Shilpa the entrepreneur means business. Since winning Big Brother in 2007, she has become a household name even in the UK. Somewhere down the line, her family genes kicked in, and she diverted her attention to building herself as a health and fitness brand, propelled by the publicity garnered by her controversial yet ultimately triumphant stint on the international reality show. In the past couple of years, she’s opened Iosis, a chain of medi salon-spas around Mumbai, made a yoga DVD, and most recently launched Shilpa’s Gourmet Creations in London, a range of vegetarian, ready-to-eat meals. She says, “I’m doing stuff that I always wanted to do in life, but earlier I didn’t have that power. Maybe monetarily I was set, but in terms of the stature to make people believe in me, I didn’t have that. Only recently, a lot of avenues opened up for me.” She’s not vegetarian herself but her gourmet meals boast under-10 per cent fat, which brings us to the topic of her fitness. Good genes play a part but Shilpa is particular about what she eats. “It’s a myth that healthy food doesn’t taste good. Another habit many people form in the effort to lose weight is to follow diets that make their body crave food most of the day. I think you just need to understand what your body wants and work around it and bring in long-term discipline. I have an evil sweet tooth. I don’t indulge myself daily, but I don’t deny myself either. I have smaller portions or simply substitute white sugar with Demerara sugar. And it makes the most difference perhaps that I don’t smoke or drink in this day and age, so by default I am in bed early every day.”
But she admits that she’s become more health-conscious only in the past two years. “I am at my healthiest now. After the age of 30, especially for women, you have to make sure you have the right vitamins. Our bodies do so much, our lifestyles are so hectic, so it’s all the more essential to be aware of your body’s needs as you grow older.” It helps, of course, that she has a state-of-the-art gym on the ground floor of her multi-storey house, which we crossed to reach the back lawn that houses the air-conditioned glass gazebo. On the way were also a one-piece driftwood elephant picked up from Spain, a beagle puppy, an enormous jade Buddha hand, pricey artwork, and what could be a 108” LCD TV, or at least it looks that big. Shilpa doesn’t deny that she’s leading the Cinderella life. Having made a million pounds herself from Big Brother, two years ago she married millionaire NRI businessman Raj Kundra, who figured in the 2004 list of Richest British Asians. “As children, my parents really taught us the value of money,” she says. “I’m not saying it isn’t important. I’m aware of what money can do. I know people change because of money. For me, I wanted to earn money because I never at any point wanted to not be able to afford medical care for someone who fell ill in my family. I wanted so much that I’d be able to give that person the best medical care. So the relevance of money for me is different. But I am, of course, not complaining. I love the luxuries and comfort that come with it.” One of the luxuries is that she gets to hobnob with the crème de la crème. So what does she say to Prince Charles whenever she meets him, in the capacity of being a part of his charity? She pauses a while and says, “I think we’ve spoken about Indian food.” She does drop one name: her favourite is Queen Rania of Jordan. “She’s so down-to-earth, so beautiful, so lovely. I don’t know if I can say we became friends, but we exchanged numbers, she invited me for her 40th birthday. I admire her for the work she does.” Incidentally, her house also shares a wall with Lalit Modi’s. “When Raj and I bought this property, we didn’t realise he lived right next door. Now he doesn’t, of course.” About the cricket scandal that rocked the nation, as an owner of the IPL team Rajasthan Royals, she says, “We still don’t understand it. Everybody’s money is in, and it’s in for good. It’s really sad that in a place like India there is no guarantee of investment. It doesn’t really paint a good picture of our country. Cricket is not just a business; we’re all very passionate about the game. Raj and I are at matches not just because there is money invested, but because we love the game.”
Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan says that his forthcoming production venture 'Delhi Belly' will destroy the goodwill he has earned in the past decades with his family-oriented films.
'Aamir Khan Productions is known for its inspiring, clean, family entertainment. All that is about to change! 'Delhi Belly' has the potential of destroying, in a single stroke, all the goodwill we have built in the last 10 years,' Aamir wrote on his blog aamirkhan.com.
The film, co-produced by Aamir Khan Productions and UTV Motion Pictures, stars Imran Khan, Vir Das, and Kunal Roy Kapur and is slated to release July 1.
The actor-producer says that 'Delhi Belly' happened by accident.
'Akshat Verma, the writer, had been trying to reach me with no success but dropped off a copy of the script at my house. One day I was busy with some email and (my wife) Kiran, while waiting for me to finish, picked up the script lying on top of the pile of unread scripts. Couple of minutes later I heard her giggling, then laughing, then falling off the sofa choking with laughter and rolling on the ground,' wrote Aamir.
'Three hours later I was calling the number written on the first page of the script and asking for Jim Furgele and Akshat Verma. Forty-eight hours later Akshat and Jim were sitting in front of me,' he added.
She is best known for playing Bella Swan in The Twilight Saga.
She has also starred in films such as
Panic Room (2002),
Zathura (2005),
In the Land of Women (2007),
The Messengers (2007),
Adventureland (2009) and
The Runaways (2010).
Kristen Stewart was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. Her father, John Stewart, is a stage manager and television producer who has worked for Fox. Her mother, Jules Mann-Stewart, is a script supervisor originally from Maroochydore, Queensland, Australia.
She has an older brother, Cameron Stewart, and an adoptive brother, Taylor. Stewart attended school until the seventh grade, and then continued her education by correspondence. Stewart attended school until the seventh grade, and then continued her education by correspondence.
Her whole family all worked behind the camera, and Stewart thought she would become a writer/director, but never considered being an actor. "I never wanted to be the center of attention — I wasn't that 'I want to be famous, I want to be an actor' kid. I never sought out acting, but I always practiced my autograph because I love pens. I'd write my name on everything."
Stewart's acting career began at the age of eight, after an agent saw her perform in her elementary school's Christmas play. After a year of auditioning, Stewart's first role was a nonspeaking part in the film The Thirteenth Year.[4] Then, she had another part in the film The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas as the "ring toss girl". She subsequently appeared in the independent film The Safety of Objects, in which she played the tomboy daughter of a troubled single mother (Patricia Clarkson). Stewart had a major role in the Hollywood film Panic Room, playing the diabetic daughter of a divorced mother (Jodie Foster). The film received generally positive reviews, and Stewart garnered positive notices for her performance. She was nominated for a Young Artist Award for her performance.
After Panic Room's success, Stewart was cast in another thriller, Cold Creek Manor, playing the daughter of Dennis Quaid's and Sharon Stone's characters; the film generally failed at the box office. She was again nominated for a Young Artist Award for her performance. It was revealed that at about this time in her career, she had to be homeschooled due to her irregular schedule, which was affecting her grades. She said, "I started homeschooling because my teachers were failing me. I think it was just resentment — I made more work for them. But homeschooling is great; you can study what you want, which allows you to get more excited about what you're doing".
Her first starring role followed, in the children's action-comedy Catch That Kid, opposite Max Thieriot and Corbin Bleu. Stewart also played the role of Lila in the thriller Undertow. To date, Stewart's most critically acclaimed role may be in the Showtime television film Speak (2004), based on the novel by Laurie Halse Anderson. Stewart, 13 at the time of filming, played high school freshman Melinda Sordino, who stops almost all verbal contact after being raped. Stewart received great praise for playing the character, who had only a few speaking lines, but kept up a darkly humorous commentary inside her head throughout the film.
In 2005, Stewart appeared in the fantasy-adventure film Zathura, playing the role of Lisa, the irresponsible older sister of two little boys, who turn their house into a spacecraft hurtling uncontrollably in outer space by playing a board game. The film received praise by critics, but Stewart's performance did not garner much media attention, as it was noted that her character is immobilized during most of the film.
In 2007, Stewart appeared as teenager Lucy Hardwicke in In the Land of Women, a romantic drama starring Meg Ryan and Adam Brody. The film, as well as Stewart's performance, received mixed reviews. That same year, Stewart appeared in Sean Penn's critically acclaimed adaptation film Into the Wild. For her portrayal of Tracy — a teenage singer who has a crush on young adventurer Christopher McCandless — Stewart received generally positive reviews. Salon.com considered her work a "sturdy, sensitive performance".
On November 16, 2007, Summit Entertainment announced that Stewart would play Isabella "Bella" Swan in the film Twilight, based on Stephenie Meyer's bestselling vampire romance novel of the same name. She stars alongside Robert Pattinson, who plays Edward Cullen, her character's vampire boyfriend. The film began production in February 2008 and finished filming in May 2008. Twilight was released domestically on November 21, 2008. After the release of Twilight, Kristen Stewart was awarded the MTV Movie Award for Best Female Performance for her portrayal as Bella Swan. Stewart reappeared as Bella in the sequel, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, and reprised this role in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.
Stewart has been nominated and presented with the BAFTA Rising Star award. At the 2010 82nd Annual Academy Awards, Stewart and Twilight co-star Taylor Lautner presented a tribute in honour of the horror movie genre.
In 2009, Stewart starred in The Yellow Handkerchief, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival and was released into theaters in 2010 by Samuel Goldwyn Films. She also starred alongside James Gandolfini in Welcome to the Rileys, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2010.
Stewart was listed as the highest earning female actress in Hollywood in the "2010's Top Hollywood Top Earners List" compiled by Vanity Fair. Throughout 2010, Stewart earned an estimated $28.5 million for all her movie appearances.
In March 2011, it was confirmed that Stewart will playing the leading role in the film Snow White and the Huntsman.
Stewart currently lives in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles. Stewart has expressed a desire to live and work in Australia, saying, "I want to go to Sydney University in Australia. My mom's from there."
Apart from acting, she is also interested in attending college in the near future, saying, "I want to go to college for literature. I want to be a writer. I mean, I love what I do, but it's not all I want to do — be a professional liar for the rest of my life." In an interview with Vanity Fair, Stewart stated that she dated Michael Angarano, her co-star from Speak.
