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Ms Congeniality...
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 The actor added: “I don’t want to sound cliched but it has truly been quite a roller-coaster... The highs, the lows, and each one has taught me so much.”
For Shetty, the entire Big Brother episode was a lifeline for her sagging career back home. The actor, who was at best an also-ran in Bollywood, was besieged with all kinds of offers. With this victory, she could take home several bounties, besides the £350,000 paid to her to participate in the show. She has been offered a Hollywood film by Fox pictures, a book deal, endorsements for clothes, cosmetics and jewellery, a documentary, hosting a cricket reality show and an awards ceremony and an exclusive interview with the The Sun fetching her £100,000. And (ouch!) an offer for doing a musical for British composer Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber.
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So Shetty gets her dues, the sponsors are back and happy, Channel 4 is looking at mega-profits, and the British public feels it has righted a wrong by giving her a perfect 10
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The Daily Mirror said Shetty had been invited to a reception to mark Commonwealth Day on March 12 where she would come face-to-face with the queen. She was also due to meet Blair and other ministers at the House of Commons on February 7, the tabloid reported. None of the reports could be confirmed, though.
So is Shetty ready for more reality shows? “No way. I was shocked by the lack of respect, the burping, farting, drinking and swearing. Great Britain is where Shakespeare was from—it’s known for its culture and high tea but I didn’t see any of that,” she said finally frankly.
So Shetty gets her dues, the sponsors are back and happy, Channel 4 is looking at mega-profits, and the British public feels it has righted a wrong by giving Shetty a perfect 10. But the issue of racism won’t go away as easily. Goody and co are a growing band of feckless, envious British natives whose prejudiced moans increasingly dominate the public space. Moreover, regarded as authentic voices of the working class, they are encouraged, listened to, even respected by the media and a section of politicians.
Middle-class anti-immigrants in Britain use the many resentful Goodys around the country to promote their cause. British politicians have turned pleasers to these perpetually complaining citizens who despise browns and blacks —especially if they are making it.
At the end of the show, there was some genuine remorse from the villains. Or was it the compulsion of survival. Asked what she had learnt from the entire episode, Danielle Lloyd said: “Not to be such a bitch.” And Goody, in a hopefully not a suicidal move, said she is considering a fence-mending trip to India.
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more...
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February 2007
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