Shilpa is a strong individual, says family

Mumbai, Jan 18: The family of Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty, who has faced taunts from her housemates on UK's reality show ''Big Brother'', has said that the actress is a strong individual who ''continues to make them proud every day''.

A signed statement issued here today by the actress' spokesman Dale Bhagwagar and her mother Sunanda Shetty, said the family was quite ''hassled and harrowed by the trial by media that was happening for the last two days''.

''We have deputed Shilpa's spokesman Dale Bhagwagar to handle the media in India as well as in the UK,'' Sunanda Shetty said in the statement.

She said her family was overwhelmed and touched by the public support for Shilpa, not just in India but across the globe. ''We do not condone bullying or victimisation of any one of a group of people. We thank those who are concerned for her, and have complete faith in Channel 4 that they will not allow any mistreatment of Shilpa to take place,'' she added.

UNI