Shilpa Shetty

In September 1992, Shetty signed for and began working on her first film – the romantic drama Gaata Rahe Mera Dil[17] – to be directed by Dilip Naik which tells the story of a girl involved in a love triangle between two men (played by 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.[18] Both the film as well as Shetty's performance received critical appreciation; Shetty received nominations for Best Supporting Actress and Lux New Face of the Year (now known as Best Female Debut) at the annual Filmfare Awards ceremony.[19]

In 1994, Shetty had three film releases.[18] Her first release that year was the action drama Aag, in which she played her first leading role. Co-starring Govinda and Sonali Bendre, the film saw Shetty portray Bijli, a village belle who is actually a plainclothes 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 village belle). The film which marked Shetty's first of many collaborations with Kumar proved to be a super-hit at the box office. 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.[18]

In 1995, Shetty starred in Hathkadi, where she was working alongside actors such as Saif Ali Khan, Govinda and Madhoo, but they failed at the box office. She made her Tamil film debut with 1996 released Mr. Romeo alongside actors Prabhu Deva and Madhoo. The film was a sleeper musical hit at the box office. 1997 was one of her busiest years: she appeared in six different films, beginning with the Telugu-language film Veedevadandi Babu. Her first major Bollywood film of that year was the action thriller Auzaar. Shilpa portrayed the character of Prathna Thakur alongside actors Salman Khan and Sanjay Kapoor. In 1998, she had one release, Pardesi Babu, for which she received critical acclaim and won the Bollywood Movie Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the film.

Shetty at IIFA Awards 2007

In 2000, Shetty received acclaim for her role in Dhadkan, which earned reasonable takings at the Indian box office.[20] She received several nominations under the Best Actress category in award ceremonies. She would later go on to star with Anil Kapoor and Karisma Kapoor in the film Rishtey (2002). Her comic performance as an eccentric fisherwoman was appreciated and she received a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress, in addition to nominations for Best Comedian as well.[21]

In 2004, Shetty appeared in Garv, 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. The film was a police drama.[22] She received high critical acclaim for her performance in Phir Milenge, where she made a sensitive portrayal of a successful city high-flyer who contracts HIV from unprotected sex and becomes a social outcast as a result. The film, based on 1993's Philadelphia, was perceived to have tackled a social taboo as yet unaddressed by Bollywood.[16] The film earned Shetty a Filmfare Award for Best Actress nomination and provided an impetus for her HIV-related charity work (see below). Film critic Taran Adarsh from IndiaFM noted: "Phir Milenge belongs to Shetty completely. She delivers, what can be rightly called, the performance of her career."[23] 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,[22] exemplified by her film Dus (2005), an action thriller. Although it received average returns at the box office,[24] Shetty stated that she had taken the role to reinvent herself by portraying the rather unconventional character of an anti-terrorist squad member.[22]

In 2005, Shetty 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. 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 likable wife.[25] In 2006, she was a judge alongside Farah Khan & Sanjay Leela Bhansali on Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, a Sony TV dance show based on the original UK show Strictly Come Dancing.

Shetty was once featured in Mani Ratnam's stage show Netru, Indru, Naalai.

2007 proved to be Shetty's most successful year at the box office. Her first release, Life in a... Metro, received highly positive critical reviews and became the first Bollywood movie to premiere at Leicester Square, London.[26] The film performed well at the box office and was declared a semi-hit within three weeks of release. Additionally, the film was critically acclaimed and Shetty's performance was appreciated, with Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN writing: "It's a terrific performance and unquestionably Shetty's best to date".[27] Her second release, alongside three Deols (Dharmendra, Sunny and Bobby), the family drama Apne, was also a box office success.

Shetty starred in the unreleased 2010 Indo-Chinese drama The Desire, a film rescued during production by her mother, who stepped in when its producer abandoned the project unfinished.

Shetty's only appearance on-screen during her break was in the 2014 film Dishkiyaoon, where she appeared in the song 'Tu Mere Type Ka Nahi Hai'. She made her comeback to films after 14 years, with the 2021 film Hungama 2 which received widely negative reviews.[28]

Shetty will next appear in Nikamma alongside Abhimanyu Dassani and Shirley Setia.[29] She will also be seen as the lead in her next women-centric film Sukhee with Amit Sadh.[30] Shetty will make her web debut with Rohit Shetty's series 'Indian Police Force', joining as the first female cop in his Cop universe. She will appear alongside Sidharth Malhotra.[31]

In April 2006, a Madurai court [53] issued non-bailable warrants against Shetty and actress Reema Sen for "posing in an obscene manner" in photographs published by a Tamil newspaper.[54] The report stated that the two actresses had failed to comply with earlier summonses, hence the issuance of the warrants.[54] The petitioner submitted that the paper had published "very sexy and medium blow-ups" in its December 2005 and January 2006 issues, and alleged that these violated the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act 1986, Young Persons (Harmful Publications) Act 1956, and the Indian Penal Code Section 292 (Sale of Obscene Books). The petitioner further demanded that the images be confiscated under the terms of the Press and Registration of Book Act 1867.[54]

Shetty responded that she had not received any court summons and also discounted the charges. She further claimed that the pictures were freeze-frame shots from a recent movie that only exposed her navel. "As far as my photographs go, what is obscene about it? If navel-showing is obscenity, then our traditional Indian outfit – the traditional sari – should be banned in the first place."[55]

In January 2007, outgoing Chief Justice Y.K. Sabharwal confirmed that Shetty had written to him requesting that he enunciate guidelines against frivolous lawsuits against the artists, but he had refused her plea on the grounds that she should have filed a formal petition instead of writing a letter.[56]

During her stay on Celebrity Big Brother 5, Shetty was the target of racism and bullying by some other housemates, chiefly Jade Goody, Jo O'Meara and Danielle Lloyd.[57] After correcting Goody's mother, who mispronounced Shetty's name as 'Shiwpa', Shetty was mocked for her Indian accent and was branded "The Indian" and was referred to as a "dog" by Lloyd. Referring to Shetty, O'Meara generalised that all Indians were thin because they were "sick all the time" as a result of undercooking their food, following their belief that Shetty had undercooked a chicken,[58] which had given O'Meara diarrhea.[59] Lloyd also mentioned that she disliked Shetty touching her food because she did not "know where her hands have been".[60]

After Shetty had attempted to dispose of the left-over chicken soup down the toilet and had caused a blockage, housemate Jack Tweed suggested that she should pick the bones out with her teeth[59] and allegedly referred to her as a "fucking Paki",[61] although show producers denied this and stated that the word used was "cunt".[62][63] During a fierce argument, Goody told Shetty that she needed to "spend a day in the slums", although the media falsely reported this as "go back to the slums".[64] Claiming that she did not know Shilpa's surname, Goody referred to her as "Shilpa Fuckawallah", "Shilpa Daroopa", and "Shilpa Poppadom", later claiming that they were non-racist references to Indian food.[65][66] Lloyd had opined that Shetty's English-speaking skills were lacking and said she should "fuck off home".[67]

Danielle Lloyd (left) and Shetty (right) at Life in a... Metro premiere at London's Leicester Square, 2007.

Shetty had been reduced to tears on several occasions, telling fellow housemate Ian Watkins: "I feel like I'm losing my dignity."[59] After the show, Goody stated that she understood her comments appeared as racist and apologised for any offence caused.[68] On 14 February 2007, Shetty said "Jade and Danielle did apologise. And I've forgiven them. Anyone, who knows me, knows I forgive and forget easily." On 17 February 2007, Shetty said that she wanted to forgive Jo O'Meara, but she and other Celebrity Big Brother contestants had difficulty contacting her.[69] After Goody apologised to Shetty for her behaviour, Tweed stated that he was very disappointed with Goody for apologising, and called Shetty a "dick" after previously describing her as a "wanker". Shetty speculated that she might be a victim of racism,[70] but later retracted it by claiming: "People say things in anger."[65]  In May 2007, Lloyd attended the premiere of Shetty's film Life in a... Metro in London, in which the two were photographed together.

The screening of the racial comments on UK television resulted in national and international media coverage, responses from the UK and Indian governments,[71] and the show's suspension during the 2008 season.[72] Many agencies and corporations cancelled their contracts with the housemates accused of racism, citing the allegations as the reason for the terminations. Also, many sponsors of the Big Brother series cancelled[73] or suspended[74] their sponsorship of the show. After conducting an investigation, Ofcom ruled that Channel 4 had breached the Ofcom code of conduct, and statutory sanctions were placed on the network.[75]

On 15 April 2007, the American actor Richard Gere hugged and kissed Shetty repeatedly on the cheek during an AIDS-awareness event.[76] In response, a number of protesters, including members of the Hindu nationalist political party Shiv Sena,[77] beat burning the effigies of Gere with sticks.[78] The protests occurred in a variety of cities, including Varanasi, Bhopal, Kanpur, Indore, Delhi and Mumbai.[79] Others set fire to glamour shots of Shetty. Some groups demanded an apology from her and threatened to ban her movies in the state.[80] Shiv Sena leaders denied involvement in the protests, but Shiv Sena member of Parliament Sanjay Raut observed that the protests are "just a manifestation of the anger of the general public" and that there was "nothing wrong with expressing contempt at such an act".[81]

Shetty responded to these protests by saying, "I understand this (kissing) is his (Gere's) culture, not ours. But this was not a big thing or so obscene for people to overreact in such a manner. I struggle to understand these people's sentiments, but mainly I do not want a foreigner to take bad memories from here."[79] On 26 April 2007, an Indian court in Rajasthan issued a warrant for Shetty and Gere's arrest.[82] A two-judge bench of the Supreme Court headed by the Chief Justice of India subsequently dismissed the suit and suspended the arrest warrants.[83] While the charge against Gere was dropped soon after the incident, the charge against Shetty was not formally dismissed until January 2022.[84] Gere has since expressed regret for causing any offence and Shetty has said: "so much has been blown out of proportion".[85]