Friday,
September
21,
2007
Here's
yet
another
feather
in
Shilpa
Shetty's
illustrious
cap.
According
to
the
'Cool
Brands
Council'
in
Britain,
the
dusky
beauty
is
"one
of
the
coolest
things
to
happen
to
humankind
over
the
last
year".
Yes,
Shilpa
Shetty
has
joined
an
exclusive
list
of
the
'coolest
celebrities'
chosen
by
the
British
public
and
the
Council
–a
group
of
style
gurus,
designers
and
commentators
from
Britain.
This
puts
her
amongst
the
likes
of
world
famous
sportsman
David
Beckham,
supermodel
Kate
Moss
and
the
British
Prime
Minister
Gordon
Brown,
and
makes
her
the
first
Indian
ever
to
bag
this
honour.
No
wonder
Shilpa's
indefatigable
publicist
Dale
Bhagwagar
is
beaming
with
enthusiasm.
"Wow.
So
now,
India's
'hottest
figure'
is
Britain's
'coolest
girl'," he
exclaims
with
a
broad
smile.
"That's
some
kinda
temperature
fluctuation,
but
being
her
publicist,
I
simply
love
it,"
he
adds.
"Shilpa
isn't
aware
of
this
list
yet,
but
it
sure
would
be
flattering
for
her,"
quips
the
PR
expert.
Had
there
been
a
similar
list
of
the
'coolest' in
India,
we
wonder
if
she
would
have
found
place
here
too?
Especially
with
the
likes
of
the
Khans,
the
Bachchans
(and
no,
we
aren't
taking
a
dig
at
Ash),
Hritik
Roshan,
Preity
Zinta
and
Rani
Mukherjee
around!
Coz
these
names
are
associated
with
all
the
big
banners
and
brands,
whereas
Shilpa
is
yet
to
pick
up
the
big
ones
post-'Big
Brother'.
But
expect
her
publicist
to
come
up
with
an
ace
counter
to
this.
"Shilpa
was
already
a
big
name
in
India
before
'Big
Brother'
happened.
She
has
had
her
lot
of
die-hard
fans;
some
for
her
acting
abilities,
some
for
her
sex-appeal,
some
for
her
dusky
looks,
some
for
her
perfect
physique
and
some
for
her
dance
talents.
It's
just
that
after
'Big
Brother',
her
popularity
zoomed
worldwide.
It
was
kind
of
a
transition
of
her
image
from
actress
to
diva.
Actually,
it
is
her
fans
and
public,
who
have
put
her
on
this
pedestal.
She's
remained
the
same
person.
But
perceptions
have
changed.
Suddenly,
everyone
expects
the
world
out
of
her," the
publicist
comments.
So
does
he
believe,
Shilpa
will
be
able
to
live
up
to
these
great
expectations?
"I
guess,
she's
doing
fine
on
the
progress
chart.
One
step
at
a
time
–
and
strong
steps,
indeed.
Two
of
her
movies,
'Metro'
and
'Apne',
released
this
year.
'Metro'
got
her
a
lot
of
critical
acclaim
and
proved
to
be
a
big
success
at
the
box-office,
while
'Apne'
did
extremely
well
in
North
India.
Since
then,
she
launched
her
perfume
S2
in
UK;
delved
into
production
and
made
a
DVD
video
on
yoga
for
the
UK
and
Dubai
market
under
her
banner
S2
Global
Productions;
walked
the
ramp
for
Tarun
Tahiliani
at
the
Fashion
Week
in
Delhi;
and
recently
presented
the
'One
X
One
Difference
Award'
to
Richard
Gere
at
a
grand
fund-raising
charity
event
in
Toronto.
Next
month,
she
will
premiere
her
broadway
musical
'Miss
Bollywood'
in
Berlin,
Germany,"
Dale
informs.
But
what
about
films?
"The
Press
sometimes
tends
to
overlook
that
Shilpa
has
turned
entrepreneur.
It's
not
correct
to
always
equate
an
actor's
work
with
films.
However,
having
said
that,
Shilpa
has
been
going
through
umpteen
scripts
at
the
moment.
Some
of
them
from
UK
and
others
from
US.
She
would
be
playing
the
role
of
Sita
in
Uru
Patel's
international
venture
'Hanuman'
and
you'll
also
hear
more
announcements
soon.
She's
also
keen
to
play
more
impacting
roles
in
Bollywood."
But
then,
many
feel
that
Shilpa
is
a
bigger
name
in
the
UK
than
in
India?
"That
is
a
fact.
Every
Brit,
from
a
businessman
to
a
labourer,
is
aware
of
her
today.
The
self-respect
and
dignity
with
which
she
conducted
herself
during
'Big
Brother'
has
made
her
a
household
name
in
UK
and
a
darling
of
the
masses.
The
country
looks
up
to
her
as
an
icon.
But
let
us
not
forget
that
whatever
Shilpa
has
made
of
herself
in
UK
is
because
of
her
rich
upbringing
in
India".
Well,
must
say,
it's
the
right
attitude
that
makes
Shilpa
'the
coolest'
one