Shilpa returns to Goa for The Man

It isn't easy being the desi Vanessa Mae. Damn, it isn't easy being Shilpa Shetty either. So Shilpa discovered this week when within 28 hours she flew from Goa to London and back again in Goa after collecting a distinguished award. "I've been shooting in Goa non-stop for The Man with Sunny. The only reason I was given a day off was because the Global Cultural Diversity award was really prestigious."

Shilpa received the award along with the Formula One racing driver Lewis Hamilton. "It's given to people from different parts of the world who've made a difference to global cultural dynamics. It felt...disorienting. Because I barely touched down on London couldn't even gather my breath and I was out of London back in Goa to shoot. I didn't even get the chance to catch any sleep. I came straight to shoot," says Shilpa.

And all this with a severe neck pain brought on by her new avatar as a violinist in Sunny Deol's The Man. "It's a common malady in violin players. With your neck and shoulder pressed forward to hold the violin the pain is a kind of given. However, I never thought it'd be so bad." Shilpa is now serious about pursuing her new violin vocation. She will continue to play the instrument even after the film's shooting is done.

Shilpa says she feels a sense of elation when she represents India at global events in England. "I had a woman coming up to me to say she now feels proud to be an Indian in Britain after the way I conducted myself at Big Brother."