Shilpa's 'Big Brother' win: victory to Ind goodness

New Delhi, Feb 4: To err is human, to forgive divine. This age old saying embedded in Indian philosophy, long being relegated to a state of obsolescence has ironically found its reflection in the outcome of a reality show in Britain.

Analysts in the film trade term Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty's overwhelming win in Britain's reality show 'Celebrity Big Brother' earlier this week as, more than anything else, a ''triumph of simple Indian goodness over the aggressiveness of the West''.

''That the bubbly and effervescent Shilpa, with her innocence and purity of heart, managed to emerge triumphant in a show organised by a British television channel and dominated by English men and women constantly targetting Shilpa with their nasty remarks smacking of racism, is in a way indicative of a triumph of the "never say die" spirit of Indians who greet even their adversaries with a smile on their lips,''film analyst and Shilpa's publicist Dale Bhagwagar said while talking to UNI.

Dale who, as Shatty's publicist, has been associated with the actress for almost five years, said,''having known Shilpa for such a long time and having watched her from close quarters, I can say that she is an extremely good human being who, with her bubbliness and effervescence, represents the very essence of Indianness.

Infact, she is a kind of person whom you can put in any corner of the world and she will win hearts.

The kind of person she is , it is very difficult for anyone to put any negativity in her. She always bounces back with her basic goodness and spreads positivity all around. For one, she never hold a grudge against anyone.'' Dale's view is endorsed by model-turned-actor Gautam Kapoor.

Gautam, who had a chance to interact with Shilpa during shoot of advertisement for a magazine shot together and who is also working with her in the forthcoming film 'Metro', feels that with her innocence, purity of heart, Shilpa is the perfect embodiment of Indian goodness.

''I had the opportunity to be associated with Shilpa while we were shooting for a magazine advertisement. I found her to be an extremely good human being who, with her innocence and bubby nature, has the ability to win over anyone who come in contact with her.

Naturally, knowing Shilpa, felt bad on hearing about racist comments made against her by her fellow contestants,''Gautam said.

''Shilpa's innocence and goodness of heart perfectly epitomizes the goodness inherent in the Indian nature that often makes them bounce back even in the face of greatest hurdles and embrace their opponents with open arm. As a community, we all have an element of goodness in us. We believe in the philosophy of 'live and let live',''Dale said.

He said that if at all Jade Goody, Shilpa's fellow contestant on the Big Brother show who allegedly made racist taunts against her, decided to come to India, he would be personally present at the airport to give here a 'Jadoo Ki Jhappi'.

That the Indian nature of not paying back their opponents in the same coin has won British hearts is inherent from the overwhelmin vote for Shilpa on the Big Brother - she got 63 per cent of the public vote against just 38 per cent for her fellow contestant Jamin Jackson.

''The overwhelming vote for Shilpa shows that not only local Asians, people in Britain too have strongly supported her. Viewed in this context, a win for Shilpa on the show is a great honour for Indian and its spirit,''Dale said.

With her bubbly, innocent and forgiving nature (she even fell sorry for the allegedly racist Jade the day the latter was evicted from the 'Big Brother' show), Shilpa has won many a heart in Britain in the process stirring up a huge debate in British circles over racism being a sorry reality of British society.

Infact, the sight of Shilpa breaking into tears in the face of some of the abuses hurled at her by her opponents, rather than replying them in the same vein, shocked many sections of British society who have, over the years, come to consider the use of such language as part of such reality shows. In this process, it earned her the sympathies of many a section of the British public.

Analysts say that the publicity that the goings on in the big brother show generated for Shilpa in these last few months is more than the actress got in all her years in Bollywood, a fact that the British High Commissioner to India Michael Arthur also admitted in a recent interview to a television channel.

UNI

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