Shilpa

Shilpa Shetty Kundra (born Ashwini Shetty, 8 June 1975) is an Indian actress who works primarily in Hindi films. She made her screen debut in the thriller Baazigar (1993) which gained her first nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress. Shetty had intermittent success in the rest of the decade, such as in the action films Main Khiladi Tu Anari (1994) and Jaanwar (1999). The rom...

Shilpa Shetty Kundra (born Ashwini Shetty, 8 June 1975) is an Indian actress who works primarily in Hindi films. She made her screen debut in the thriller Baazigar (1993) which gained her first nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress. Shetty had intermittent success in the rest of the decade, such as in the action films Main Khiladi Tu Anari (1994) and Jaanwar (1999). The romantic drama Dhadkan (2000) marked a turning point in Shetty's career. This was followed by roles in Indian (2001) and Rishtey (2002), which earned her a second Filmfare nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Shetty received praise for playing a woman with AIDS in the drama Phir Milenge (2004) and a woman in an unhappy marriage in the ensemble drama Life in a... Metro (2007). The former earned her a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress. She subsequently appeared in the action thriller Dus (2005) and the sports drama Apne (2007), and gained attention for the song "Shut Up & Bounce" from Dostana (2008). This was followed by a hiatus from acting. In 2006, she ventured into reality television by judging the dance reality show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa. In early 2007, Shetty joined the fifth series of the UK reality show Celebrity Big Brother, ultimately winning the series. During her stay, Shetty received international media coverage and attention for the racism she endured from several of her housemates. Her win was followed by a spot hosting the second season of the Indian version of the show, Bigg Boss in 2008. Shetty has since appeared as a judge on several dance and music reality-competition shows, including Zara Nachke Dikha (2010), Nach Baliye (2012–2020) and Super Dancer (2016–2021). She returned to acting in 2021 with the comedy film Hungama 2 and has since starred in the action series Indian Police Force (2024). In addition to her screen work, Shetty is a celebrity endorser for various brands and products, and she has been vocal about personal issues such as feminism, vegetarianism and animal rights. Shetty has worked with PETA since 2006 as part of an advertising campaign against the use of wild animals in circuses. She is also a fitness enthusiast and she launched her own Yoga DVD in 2015. She is involved in several fitness campaigns such as the Fit India Movement, launched by the Government of India. Shetty was awarded the Champions of Change Award for her work on the Swachh Bharat Mission cleanliness campaign. From 2009 to 2015, she was a part-owner of the Indian Premier League team Rajasthan Royals. Early life Shetty was born in Mangalore, Karnataka, into a Tulu-speaking Bunt family. Her mother, Sunanda, and late father, Surendra Shetty, were manufacturers of tamper-proof water caps for the pharmaceutical industry. Her younger sister, Shamita Shetty, is also an actress. She was educated at St. Anthony's Girls' High School in Chembur and at Podar College in Matunga. A trained Bharatanatyam dancer, she was the captain of the volleyball team at her school. In 1991, after completing her tenth-grade exams, Shetty began her career as a model with a Limca television commercial and subsequently featured in several other commercials and advertisements, following which she began receiving offers for film roles. Shetty continued to pursue her career as a model until she became an actress. Career Early success and career fluctuations (1993–1999) In September 1992, Shetty signed for and began working on her first film – the romantic drama Gaata Rahe Mera Dil, to be directed by Dilip Naik which tells the story of a girl involved in a love triangle between two men (played by brothers Ronit Roy and Rohit Roy). However, the film went unreleased, which meant that Shetty's debut release was her next film, Abbas-Mustan's thriller Baazigar, alongside Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol. Inspired by the Hollywood film A Kiss Before Dying (1956), the film featured Shetty in the supporting role of Seema Chopra, a girl who is murdered by her revenge-seeking boyfriend, played by Khan. Baazigar proved to be a major box office hit and finished up as the fourth-highest-grossing film of the year. Both the film as well as Shetty's performance received critical appreciation; Shetty received nominations for Best Female Debut and Best Supporting Actress at the annual Filmfare Awards ceremony. In 1994, Shetty had three film releases. Her first release that year was the action drama Aag, in which she played her first leading role. Co-starring Govinda and debutant Sonali Bendre, the film saw Shetty portray Bijli, a village belle who is actually an undercover policewoman assigned to arrest a murderer (played by Govinda) at any cost. Aag emerged as a moderate box office success and fetched mixed critical reviews, as did Shetty's performance. Shetty next starred alongside Akshay Kumar, Saif Ali Khan, Raageshwari and Shakti Kapoor in the action comedy Main Khiladi Tu Anari. In the film, Shetty played the dual roles of Mona (a cabaret dancer and a gangster's girlfriend) and her look-alike Basanti (a humble village girl). The film, which marked Shetty's first of many collaborations with Kumar, proved to be a super hit at the box office, becoming the sixth-highest-grossing film of the year with revenues of ₹138.4 million (US$1.4 million). Both the film as well as Shetty's performance received major critical acclaim; the success of Main Khiladi Tu Anari proved to be a breakthrough for Shetty. Her third and final release that year was the romantic drama Aao Pyaar Karen opposite Saif Ali Khan. The film, which narrates the love story of a wealthy man and his maid (played by Khan and Shetty respectively), underperformed at the box office. Shetty starred in Hathkadi (1995), where she was working alongside actors such as Saif Ali Khan, Govinda and Madhoo, but it failed at the box office. The following year, she made her Tamil film debut with Mr. Romeo, opposite Prabhu Deva and Madhoo. The film was a sleeper musical hit at the box office and she also earned Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu nomination for her performance as a mermaid in the successful film Sahasa Veerudu Sagara Kanya (1996), opposite Venkatesh. The year 1997 proved to be one of the busiest in her career, as she appeared in five films, beginning with Insaaf, Zameer: The Awakening of a Soul, and Prithvi, all of which failed commercially. Her first major Bollywood film of that year was the action thriller Auzaar, where she portrayed the character of Prathna Thakur alongside actors Salman Khan and Sanjay Kapoor. She also starred in the Telugu comedy Veedevadandi Babu, directed by E. V. V. Satyanarayana, which performed averagely but was later regarded by The Times of India as one of the funniest films of all time in Tollywood. In 1998, she had three release, Pardesi Babu, alongside Govinda and Raveena Tandon, for which she received critical acclaim and won the Bollywood Movie Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance. That year, she also made her Kannada film debut with Ravichandran’s romantic drama Preethsod Thappa, which is considered one of his notable musical hits. She appeared in Jaanwar (1999) alongside Akshay Kumar and Karishma Kapoor, playing a mother who is separated from her child. The film was a box office success, and Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com stated, "Shilpa is appealing as the grieved mother". That year also saw her feature in the widely popular item number "Main Aayi Hoon U.P. Bihar Lootne," choreographed by Ahmed Khan for the action crime film Shool. Bella Jaisinghani of The Indian Express wrote, "Shool's USP is Shilpa Shetty's song 'Main Aayi Hoon U.P. Bihar Lootne.'" Critical acclaim and commercial success (2000–2006) In 2000, Shetty received acclaim for her role in Dharmesh Darshan's musical romantic drama Dhadkan, where she played a young woman forced for an arrange marriage opposite Akshay Kumar and Suniel Shetty. A loose adaptation of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, the film earned ₹264.7 million (US$2.8 million) and emerged as a moderate success at the box office. Her performance earned her several Best Actress nominations at various award ceremonies, including the IIFA Awards. Padmaraj Nair of Screen remarked, "Shilpa gets the best role of her career and doesn't disappoint". Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama wrote, “The life of the enterprise is undoubtedly Shilpa Shetty, who looks good, delivers her lines effectively, and emotes with utmost conviction.” She was also seen alongside Nagarjuna in Vyjayanthi Movies’ Azad, which ran for 100 days in theatres and became a profitable venture in Telugu cinema. However, her other release that year failed at the box office. Shetty played a police inspector's wife opposite Sunny Deol in the 2001 action Indian. The film grossed ₹540 million (US$5.7 million) worldwide, becoming the fourth highest-grossing Hindi film of the year, although her performance received a mixed response. Shetty had six releases in 2002, with only starred Rishtey opposite Anil Kapoor, being a box office success. Her comic performance as an eccentric fisherwoman was appreciated and she received her second nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress, in addition to nominations for Best Comedian as well. Shetty's first release of 2004 was the police drama Garv: Pride and Honour, in which she portrayed a Muslim orphan and disillusioned table dancer starring opposite Salman Khan. According to Shetty, she chose to do the film because she liked the subject. Later that year, she received widespread critical acclaim for her performance in Phir Milenge, in which she played a successful city high-flyer who contracts HIV from unprotected sex and becomes a social outcast as a result opposite Salman Khan and Abhishek Bachchan. The film, based on 1993's Philadelphia, was perceived to have tackled a social taboo as yet unaddressed by Bollywood. The film earned Shetty a Filmfare Award for Best Actress nomination and provided an impetus for her HIV-related charity work (see below. Taran Adarsh noted: "Phir Milenge belongs to Shetty completely. She delivers, what can be rightly called, the performance of her career." This marked a break from the previous trend of superficial song-and-dance items in favour of roles that have a greater depth of character. Shetty's first film of 2005 was Dus, an action thriller. Although it received average returns at the box office, Shetty stated that she had taken the role to reinvent herself by portraying the rather unconventional character of an anti-terrorist squad member. She then starred opposite Upendra in the Kannada film Auto Shankar. The film was a major box office success and it earned her the name "The Gabbar Singh of the South" due to her villainous role in the film. She also earned nomination for Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Kannada. In the same year, she starred in the film Fareb with her younger sister Shamita Shetty. Shetty 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 not entirely likeable wife. In 2006, she also became a judge alongside Farah Khan and Sanjay Leela Bhansali on Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa. Further recognition and Celebrity Big Brother (2007–2009) In January 2007, Shetty was a contestant and the subsequent winner of the British reality television series Celebrity Big Brother 5. She was the first Indian celebrity included in the show. Reportedly paid Rs.31.5 m (£367,500&) for her participation, she said to presenter Davina McCall, "I just want every Indian to be extremely proud that I'm in here". As for her participation, she stated: "I have zero expectations. The only thing I really hope to keep is my self-respect and my dignity." Her sister Shamita told The Times of India that this "is the boldest decision Shilpa has taken so far." During her stay on the show, Shetty instructed fellow housemates Carole Malone and Ken Russell in medit