9.Shilpa Shetty
Shilpa Shetty, the Indian actress and model was born on the 8th of June, 1975 at Mangalore, Karnataka.Shilfa is the elder child of Sunanda and SurendraShetty, who were the manufacturers of tamper proof caps which are normally used in the pharmaceutical industry. She went to St. Anthony’s Girls High School in Mumbai and later pursued her further studies from the prestigious Podar College located in Matunga.ShamitaShetty, her younger sister is also an actress in the film industry.
At the ripe age of 16, ShipaShetty began her career by doing modelling for Limca in the year 1991, and her first film was Abbas-Mustan’s 1993 thriller, ‘Baazigar’. Here she starred opposite Kajol and Shahrukh Khan and in the movie she portrayed the role of a woman named Seema, who was murdered by her boyfriend. This film was a majot hit at the box office and she even got a nomination for the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award.
The first movie where she played a leading role was the 1994 drama film by K. Ravi Shankar titled ‘Aag’. This movie did averagely at the theatres. Same year, she appeared opposite Akshay Kumar in Sameer Malkan’s action comedy flick, ‘Main KhiladiTuAnari’. This film was followed by some average and poor films.
In the year 1995, Shilpa appeared in Rama RaoTatineni’s action flick, ‘Hathkadi’. Here she starred opposite some big names in the industry such as Govinda, Madhoo and Saif Ali Khan, but the film failed to create much of a roar at the box office. During 1997, Shilpa Shetty had a tight schedule as she had to work for six movies simultaneously. That year, one of her major films included Sohail Khan’s action thriller flick titled ‘Auzaar’. Here she played the all important character of Prathna Thakur, opposite actors Sanjay Kapoor and Salman Khan. Next year, Shilpa appeared in only one movie: Manoj Agrawal’s ‘PardesiBabu’, starring Shilpa Shetty herself, Govinda and RaveenaTandon.Shilpa received lots of appreciation for her performance in this film and she also was awarded with the Bollywood Movie Award in the Best Supporting Actress category.
In the year 2000, Shilpa got lots of accolades and appreciation for her role in DharmeshDarsan’s romantic drama ‘Dhadkan’. This film starring Shilpa Shetty herself, MahimaChaudhry, Akshay Kumar and Sunil Shetty, did reasonably well at the theatres.Shilpa got various nominations in numerous award ceremonies for her performance in this film. Two years later in 2002, she appeared in Indra Kumar’s ‘Rishtey’ starring KarismaKapoor and Anil Kapoor. Here she played the comic role of a fisherwoman and her performace was received with lots of critical acclaim and she also got nominations in two categories at the Filmfare Awards: one for the Best Supporting Actress category and the other for the Best Comedian category. The year 2004, was good for her as she had a couple of hits that year. She starred opposite Salman Khan in PuneetIssar’s action flick, ‘Garv’. Here she played the role of a Muslim orphan and as a table dancer. Next up she appeared in Revathi’s ‘PhirMilenge’, starring Shilpa Shetty herself, Salman Khan, MitaVasisht and AbhishekBachchan. In this film, Shilpa plays the role of a well to do city high-flyer who gets HIV while having unprotected sex and as a result, turns into a social outcast. ‘PhirMilenge’ was adapted from the 1993 Jonathan Demme’s American drama film, ‘Philadelphia’.
In 2005, Shilpa made an appearance in the D. RajendraBabu directed Kannada flick titled ‘Auto Shankar’ opposite Upendra, the South Indian movie star. This film was a huge success at the theatres and she herself got the title of ‘The Gabbar Singh of the South’, thanks to her negative role in the film. The very same year, she did her first film along with her sister; the Dipok Tijori directed ‘Fareb’ (2005). The following year, she had only one release, K. S Adhiyaman’s ‘ShaadiKarkePhaas Gaya Yaar’, starring Shilpa Shetty herself alongwith Salman Khan. This movie was a flop at the box office, but Shilpa received positive feedback for her performance in this film.
In 2006, she was seen on the sets of a television dance reality show named ‘Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa’, aired on Sony Entertainment Television. Here she was the judge alongside Sanjay LeelaBhansali and Farah Khan. This show was based on the UK Show called ‘Strictly Come Dancing’.
In the year 2007, Shilpa’s first release was AnuragBasu’s ‘Life in a… Metro’ which was quite successful and it went on to become the first ever Bollywood movie to premiere at the Leicester Square. That same year she appeared in ‘Apne’, directed by Anil Sharma and produced by Dharmendra. This film, starring the 3 Deols (Sunny, Bobby and Dharmendra) was also a success at the theatres.
