Shilpa Shetty

Shilpa Shetty is an Indian film actress and model. Among very few actresses, Shilpa Shetty was nominated for her first film Baazigar. The following year she delivered another blockbuster hit Main Khiladi Tu Anari where she starred with Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan. However, the proceeding years her movies failed to succeed at the box office though she did receive critical acclaim for some of her performances. Then in 1998, Pardesi Babu got released and people noticed her again. Two years after that she finally delivered a super hit, Dhadkan. Since then her career took an up turn. In 2002, she had several releases and films like Hathyar and Rishtey solidified her status as a brilliant actress. In Rishtey she stole the show from superstars Anil Kapoor and Karishma Kapoor. However, it was in 2004 that her performance in Phir Milenge brought her to the top actress list. In 2005, she delivered modest hits like Fareb (where she costarred with sister Shamita Shetty and Manoj Bajpai) and Dus. Shetty has been embroiled in various controversies including suspected Mafia links. In 2006 she was issued with a warrant on charges of obscenity. After taking part in the British Celebrity Big Brother TV show in 2007, Shetty was crowned the winner with 63% of the final vote, after an international racism controversy involving her and fellow contestants Jade Goody, Jo O’Meara and Danielle Lloyd. This was followed by a re-establishment of her status in the film industry in 2007 when she appeared in two successive movies, Life in a… Metro and Apne, with her performance in the former drawing positive reviews. In February 2009 Shilpa and her business partner Raj Kundra became part owners of the Indian Premier League franchise cricket team Rajasthan Royals (current champions) by paying approximately US $15.4 million for a 11.7% stake.