Michael Jackson was watching Big Brother

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Michael Jackson was watching Big Brother

Shilpa Shetty's friendly rapport with Jermaine Jackson earned her a special viewer. The actress also defends her family and reacts to other unsavoury allegations

Back to Section Stories Posted On Sunday, February 25, 2007


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Subhash K Jha

Shilpa Shetty

One of Shilpa's happiest memories from Big Brother is her friendship with Jermaine Jackson. "And guess what?" she squeals in delight. "Michael Jackson saw us on Big Brother. I told Jermaine to go home and call me so that I could hear Michael's voice."

Back home, Shilpa is overjoyed at seeing her sister. She says, "Shamita was shooting in Hyderabad. I borrowed her from her co-star, Madhavan. I hadn't spent any time with my sister in almost two months!"

Shilpa is hurt by the Indian and British press' attempts to attack her family. "Please don't run down my family. They accused us of not paying workers at our factory. My father has worked so hard to keep that factory going. I don't care what they write about me. But why target my family? My father is 67. Spare him. My parents have gone through so much on my account. They were worried while I was doing Big Brother. I had the choice of getting out. And I was tempted to do so for my family's sake. But I didn't want to be a loser. Honestly, it wasn't easy in there. And when people out here see the full footage it'll anger them. What kept me going was the belief that I'd be out of there in three weeks. But there were fun moments," Shilpa adds.

As for Shamita's unbecoming picture appearing in a tabloid, Shilpa sighs, "Everyone makes mistakes. Publishing her picture was a very mean thing to do. The difference between us and the West is that we've some ingrained values and we draw a line of decency in public. No point in aping the West. We should never lose our intrinsic values."

Comparisons with Rakhi Sawant who appeared on Bigg Boss were also hurtful. She says, "Sorry, but with due respect, Big Brother is a hundred notches bigger than Bigg Boss. Honestly Big Brother this time was one of the most decent seasons. I was very clear that I was going to do nothing indecent. It's the non-celebrity Big Brother that's pretty obnoxious. There was no nudity or anything obnoxious in my show."

A couple of Bollywood actresses came forward to claim they had been offered Big Brother. Shilpa says, "It was their choice if they didn't do it. I took up Big Brother because they paid me a good amount and stuck to the clauses in our contact. In a way, I feel television is my true calling."

Marital dreams? She adds, "I want to settle down. But I need a man first. I'm sure God has great plans in that department too. Just look at what He planned for me this year!"

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