| A British tabloid is pursuing Akshay Kumar for a tell-all story on former fiance Shilpa Shetty, even offering him (a measly) 40,000 for the interview
| | | Not That Way: Shilpa Shetty | Shilpa Shetty is still making big news in England.
Recently, British tabloid offered her one-time fianc Akshay Kumar 40,000 (approx Rs 34 lakh) for an interview.
No prizes for guessing that they wanted the actor to tell all about the sexy siren.
A source close to the actor confirms, "Akshay's gotten many calls from this paper there, who wanted him to talk about Shilpa, their relationship, what went wrong, etc.
Obviously, he has refused."
The tabloid even used an interview given by Shilpa (where she apparently said Akshay was still chasing her) to goad him to spill the goods, but Akki prefers to maintain a stoic silence.
Gentleman's honour
| | | Main Chhup Rahunga: Akshay Kumar | When asked about the offer, Akshay says, "I have never spoken about Shilpa and no amount of money will change that.
Even if she has said anything or will say something about me in the future, I will not retaliate. A gentleman never reacts."
When we ask Shilpa if she's heard about the tabloid's full-disclosure offer to Akshay, she says, "No. I haven't," then laughs aloud, adding, "But I must say that 40,000 is too small an offer!"
When asked about her provocative comments against Akshay in the British press, Shilpa clarifies, "I have never spoken about Akshay that way. The only time I spoke about him in the press was on an exclusive interview with Sky, when they asked me about him.
And all I said was that it's an old story. It was never a big secret that we were going out, but that was eight years ago. When I was in the house (Big Brother), Akshay had cropped up in one of the conversations as everyone was intrigued about the other's personal life."
Flight fright
Shilpa says this controversy started after she mentioned having dated Akshay on the reality show. "During one of our casual conversations about each other's love lives, I said I had dated Akshay.
The next thing I knew, the British media had dug up archives and was creating a ruckus about it. One of them wrote that I had recently met Akshay on a flight and admitted that he flirted with me. Please!" laughs Shilpa.
"The only time I've been on a flight with Akshay recently was when his wife Twinkle was also with him. Akshay and I have met on a few occasions and we've been very cordial with each other.
Our relationship is in the past. I was very young, barely 22 years old when I was dating him. Since then, both of us have moved on and Akshay is happily married with a child."
Shilpa says that Akshay is extraordinarily decent and that she holds him and his family in very high regard. She says, "I have too much respect for him and would never degrade him or myself by talking such cheap rubbish.
I am very fond of his family and his sister Alka, whom I am still in touch with. We make it a point to meet up whenever we can. Whoever has been spreading these rumours should stop as it's very embarrassing. Earlier, I might have crumbled under this sort of bullying, but now I'm too strong for this s**t."
Cheap thrills
Shilpa adds that she's been offered a lot of money to tell all about her personal life, but she won't bite the bait. "Many people have made money at my expense, so I know how painful it is.
I have far too much respect for relationships to use them to make money. It's easy to mint money like that, but I would never do something so cheap."
|
Kumkum Bhagya
Anupamaa
33