Shilpa Shetty is a household Bollywood name. Like her or hate her, you can’t deny the fact that the gorgeous lady who’s been around since the early 1990’s is someone who lives life on her own terms. She proved it with her choice in films, she proved it when she won a reality show and she’s proved it with the way she’s lived her personal life.
Right from when she joined Bollywood, Shilpa Shetty is someone who has been appreciated especially for her good looks. Her svelte figure and her stunning beauty has captured the imagination of many an Indian man.
Having acted in a multitude of hits in the 1990’s, Shilpa established herself as an actress to reckon with. Her debut Hindi feature film was a dream launch: Abbas-Mustan’s powerful revenge drama Baazigar, which saw her paired opposite Shah Rukh Khan. Though Kajol walked away with most of the accolades, Shilpa Shetty as the second female lead made her presence felt. Her performance earned her a Filmfare Best Actress nod.
Since then, Shilpa Shetty has tasted success with films like Main Khiladi Tu Anari, Auzaar, Pardesi Babu. But the turning point in Shilpa’s career came in the year 2000, when she starred in super hit Dhadkan, opposite her then rumored boyfriend Akshay Kumar.
But Shilpa’s life changed completely in 2007. She was part of UK’s reality TV show, Celebrity Big Brother, which she eventually won. But her victory was fraught with prior strife, as she had to endure tremendous racial slurs and humiliation at the hands of the other housemates. Through all this, Shilpa maintained her dignity, and won over the hearts of millions of Britons with her demeanour.
A worldwide controversy ensued, attacking her fellow inmates for racially abusing and bullying Shilpa Shetty. Public sympathy was swayed, and Shilpa eventually emerged victorious. And she hasn’t looked back since…
It is perhaps Big Brother, which led Shilpa to her husband Raj Kundra. Reportedly, the two met through common friends in the UK, and love soon blossomed. Shilpa and Raj wed in a beautiful, glittering ceremony on 22 November, 2009 and have been inseparable ever since.
Shilpa and Raj Kundra have a son, Viaan, who was born in 2012.
However, Shilpa’s fairytale also was marred by controversy, ever so slightly. Raj Kundra was a married man, and had gone through a divorce before he wed Shilpa. Sources speculated that Shilpa was the cause of his divorce, to which Shilpa vehemently denies any such claims. Earlier last year too, Shilpa and husband Raj Kundra were embroiled in an IPL match fixing controversy.
Nonetheless, Shilpa and Raj have overcome such hurdles and are seemingly still very much in love. Here’s wishing Bollywood’s power couple Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra a very happy anniversary!
