In Entertainment today we catch up with Bollywood actress, Shilpa Shetty,

who is starring in the film, “Life in a…Metro”, which has just been released.

Shilpa Shetty started her career at the age of 16 when she worked as a model,

and she made her film debut at the age of 17 in a film called “Baazigar”. If you

make your debut, it means it’s the first time you’ve done something. And in

Shilpa’s case, she was just a teenager when she started acting.

Shilpa’s been very successful as an actress – she’s been nominated four times

for the Filmfare Awards in India. But she also made it into the international

spotlight when earlier this year she took part in the British reality television

show, Celebrity Big Brother.

The programme was surrounded by controversy when Shilpa’s housemates

were accused of bullying her and making racist remarks.

But was it always Shilpa’s plan to get exposure from Celebrity Big Brother?

Did she want the fame and did she expect she’d become a heroine? As you

listen to Shilpa talking about her experiences in the Big Brother house see if

you can hear some of these phrases: getting into – cater to – make it.

Shilpa Shetty

You know what, I did Celebrity Big Brother not knowing what I was getting into and I only

thought I was going to cater to the Asian audiences and I had no idea that it was going to 

Entertainment © BBC Learning English 2007

Page 2 of 3

bbclearningenglish.com

make me an international celebrity. I had no idea what it had in store for me. So you know

when people ask me whether it was a contrived decision to do it because I wanted to make it

here or internationally, no it wasn’t. I had no idea.

Andrea: Did you hear those phrases? Shilpa says she had no idea what she was getting

into. She had no idea what was about to happen and how it would affect her

life. The other phrase she uses is ‘cater to’. Shilpa thought that being on Big

Brother would only cater to Asian audiences. She thought it would only be the

Asian viewers who would be interested in her. If you cater to someone, you are

making something especially for them. Of course the word ‘cater’ can also be

used when you are cooking something – as in ‘catering’. Finally, Shilpa talks

about making it. If you make it, you’ve become famous or well-known. Let’s

have a listen to that clip again.

Shilpa Shetty

You know what, I did Celebrity Big Brother not knowing what I was getting into and I only

thought I was going to cater to the Asian audiences and I had no idea that it was going to

make me an international celebrity. I had no idea what it had in store for me. So you know

when people ask me whether it was a contrived decision to do it because I wanted to make it

here or internationally, no it wasn’t. I had no idea.

Andrea: Since being on television in Britain, Shilpa’s career has taken off. Most recently

she played the part of Shikha in the film, “Life in a….Metro”. The film looks at

the lives of seven people living in Mumbai, India and explores how the world is

becoming smaller with the use of mobile phones, with less time for everything

and far too many choices. It also takes a look at how Indian culture is slowly

changing. Shilpa’s character has an extra-marital affair because she is neglected

by her husband. So have the morals we associate with Indian society begun to

shift?

Shilpa Shetty

Entertainment © BBC Learning English 2007

Page 3 of 3

bbclearningenglish.com

That’s what I love about the movie. It’s unpretentious. And morals have nothing to do with

culture. You are talking about a film set with characters who are fallible and who are human.

We are talking about issues that actually exist in urban India. You’re living in a metropolitan

city like Mumbai whether it be London, New York, we all have to deal with these issues and

we all deal with them in our way and in India we deal with them slightly differently because

of the background that we hail from. So you talk about extra-marital affairs, yes they exist in

India. If you’re telling me it doesn’t exist then you’re being a hypocrite because they do exist

– you know, I know that. People don't talk about them but in our film, it’s been portrayed so

beautifully. In fact, my character you actually feel so bad for her your heart goes out to her.

You actually want her to run away with her lover.

Andrea: Shilpa says the film is unpretentious. That means it’s not trying to be clever. It is

what it is. She also says that if you think that people don’t have affairs in modern

India, you are being a hypocrite. A hypocrite is someone who deceives themselves

when they know the truth. Shilpa is really proud of the film and she believes that

the way her character is shown in the film is done beautifully. The word she uses

is ‘portrayed’. Her character is portrayed beautifully. Finally she talks about the

part she played – her character. She says, you really feel for her – your heart goes

out to her.