By Steven Baker

On holiday in India last year, American citizen Cory Goldberg unexpectedly found himself cast in a small part in a Bollywood film. It was a case of being in the right place at the right time for Miami-born Corey as he was whisked to a film studio in Mumbai, dressed in a garish costume, and given a couple of lines of dialogue to deliver.

Cory, 31, recalls that the day involved a lot of hanging around on the set. Between takes, he recollects: "A stunning actress came and sat on the sofa beside me. I had no idea who she was, but she looked amazing. We chatted for a while, and I couldn't take my eyes off her." Their conversation came to an end when the director called her away for her next shot, "but she happily posed for a holiday snap before she left".

Months later, Cory was stunned to see news footage taken from Britain's "Celebrity Big Brother" programme, showing Shilpa Shetty suffering racist taunts at the hands of some of the other housemates. On closer inspection he realised that this was his Bollywood dream girl from the forthcoming release "Apne".

In her introductory video before she entered the Big Brother House, Shilpa Shetty revealed: "I'm an Indian film actress and lucky enough to be one of the most well known film actors in Indian cinema."

Not quite, Ms Shetty. Yes, she is a genuine Indian film actress. You would be hard pushed, however, to find anybody here in India, who would agree that she is "one of the most well known film actors in Indian cinema". Globally, we all know Aishwarya Rai. Rani Mukherjee and Preity Zinta may also get nods of recognition. But Shilpa?

Although Shilpa has been acting in Bollywood for almost 14 years and has released close to 50 movies, in only a handful has she achieved commercial success. Her 1993 debut "Baazigar" (Magician) was well received, but in this film all we really saw was the heroine dancing around a bit before she is killed off. She gained critical recognition in 2004's "Phir Milenge" (We'll Meet Again), in which she played the role of a person living with HIV. The film, with its controversial storyline, won her several awards but did not perform well on its release.

In an industry that churns out over 800 films a year, Bollywood tends to shoot on more than one production at a time. So whilst their output is prolific, in this crowded market, every Friday many releases flop spectacularly at the box office, and are quickly forgotten. What this ex-model is definitely known for is her physique. Whilst not the most talented or well known actor in Hindi films, karate expert and yoga queen Shilpa has earned the title the 'body' of Bollywood. Something which British viewers will no doubt get the chance to see more and more of through BB's 37 cameras. There is speculation that this body has been achieved with the help of plastic surgery, though the actor will only admit to having had a nose job.

As an animal rights supporter, you may recall that Shilpa fronted a campaign for PETA locked in a cage, wearing an animal print cat suit. She is also an activist for HIV charities in India, and worked on a short awareness raising film with the BBC last year. Here she scores points. The British branch of PETA is very much behind Shilpa and has requested its members to stand behind her. With a wave of public support behind her from an outraged British public, Shilpa now looks set to emerge the winner of the competition.

India's own adaptation of "Big Brother" entitled "Big Boss", still in its first series, is made up of a Bombay mix of wannabes, has-beens, nobodies... and Rakhi Sawant. Strict censorship laws in India mean it is far tamer than what is shown in Britain, and it has not really caught the imagination of the public, as the format has in other regions.

However, a global audience has sat up and taken notice of the first Bollywood actress to appear on "Celebrity Big Brother", and the world's media is closely following Shilpa's time in the house-as much for the globally escalating race row, dominating world headlines, as any form of entertainment the show may actually offer. And while Shilpa may not be one of the most well known film actors in Indian cinema, she has certainly become one of the most well known reality TV stars on television.

(Steven Baker is a British writer who divides his time between London, New Delhi and Mumbai. He is at present the coordinator of the British Council's creative writing course in New Delhi and has also appeared in 15 Bollywood films. He can be contacted at
stevenbaker@hotmail.com)

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