At
a
glittering
ceremony
for
the
'NDTV
Indian
of
the
Year'
awards
held
at
the
Taj
Palace
Hotel
in
New
Delhi,
actress
Shilpa
Shetty
missed
winning
the
award,
while
Rajnikanth,
another
star
hailing
from
the
South,
bagged
it.
In
the
year
gone
by,
Rajnikanth
achieved
huge
popularity
with
his
superbly-scripted
character
in
the
film
'Sivaji
–
The
Boss'.
On
the
other
hand,
Shilpa
Shetty
received
worldwide
recognition
for
the
dignity
with
which
she
stood
up
against
racial
discrimination
onslaughts
in
the
British
reality
show
'Celebrity
Big
Brother'.
This
not
only
made
the
actress
a
household
name
and
an
icon
in
the
United
Kingdom,
but
brought
immense
pride
for
our
country,
propelling
her
as
an
ambassador
of
equality
across
the
globe.
"Shilpa
has
only
been
an
achiever,
while
Rajnikanth
has
been
a
great
performer," commented
the
actresses'
publicist
Dale
Bhagwagar
on
her
losing
out
to
the
award.
"Shilpa
has
emerged
the
most
famous
Indian
in
the
UK.
Hopefully,
India
will
reward
her
for
this
accomplishment
in
future,"
he
added.
Apart
from
Shilpa
and
Rajnikanth,
other
nominations
in
the
entertainment
category
of
the
'NDTV
Indian
of
the
Year'
awards,
included
Shah
Rukh
Khan
(who
was
given
a
'special
award')
and
Himesh
Reshammiya.
The
jury
comprised
former
BBC
correspondent
Sir
Mark
Tully,
Kiran
Karnik,
Shobha
De,
Shekhar
Gupta
and
former
chairman
of
ISRO
Dr
K.Kasturirangan,
among
others.