Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty set for television debut as host

Mumbai, August 7 : Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty is all set to make television debut as a host with a reality television show "Bigg Boss".

The show "Bigg Boss" is India's take on the reality TV show "Celebrity Big Brother".

The announcement that 33-year-old actress had agreed to host the second season of the reality show was made at a party hosted by newly launched television channel Colors on Wednesday.

The reality show "Bigg Boss" requires a set of celebrities unknown to each other aiming to stay under one roof for 85 days without accompaniments of normal life.

In January last year, Shetty beat 13 "Celebrity Big Brother" contestants, including television personality Jade Goody and some other housemates whose treatment of Shetty generated thousands of complaints, dominated headlines and even prompted a sponsor of the show to pull out.

Speaking to the media about her participation in "Celebrity Big Brother" show Shilpa said, "I went (to participate in Big Brother) with a mindset that I have nothing to fear and what's the big deal, whole life I have been an actress and I have been in front of the cameras and I have nothing to hide. Honestly I also felt that I'll be eliminated in the first round and I still lasted I don't know how. But I feel being in Big Brother house teaches you a lot."

However, about her television debut Shilpa added, "See I will be able to empathize with the people in the house better because I have been through the experience and I know what they will be going through at that point of time. So I think it will be easier for me to relate to them and we are all human beings so I think I'm going to try and make it (hosting of the Bigg Boss show) entertaining with a human touch."

The Indian version "Bigg Boss", which was first aired on popular Indian channel in November 2006, follows the international format of the reality TV show.

Participants from Bollywood and television industry spend several days cooped up in a specially designed house under 24-hour surveillance, with no access to telephones or television. Each week, one of them was voted out and Bollywood actor Arshad Warsi hosted the first season of this show.

Second season of the reality show "Bigg Boss" would premiere on a private channel in August this year.

ANI