“I am like the Angelina Jolie of India,” Shilpa Shetty declared when she explained to her housemates who she was at the start of UK reality programme Celebrity Big Brother (CBB). A year after winning the show, no such lofty comparisons are necessary. As Shetty takes the London stage in the musical Miss Bollywood, she kisses goodbye a year in which she has lived what she describes as the “surreal life”.

Life post-CBB has been one of mixed splendour for the actress. Her newly-found fame in Britain did not translate into foreign box-office gold: both of her post-win releases, Life in a Metro and Apne, crashed in the UK. As Tanuj Garg, former Head of UTV, which distributed the film, says: “Shilpa undoubtedly bagged a lot of publicity courtesy of CBB, but high media value is not the same as box-office clout, and the audience is cognizant of the difference.”

Her ventures outside the film industry were more successful, if not particularly imaginative. Her jasmine-scented perfume, S2, became a bestseller and a box set has now been released for Christmas, which includes a Shilpa body cream.

Then there was Miss Bollywood, which premiered in Berlin in September amidst charges of alleged plagiarism by a leading Bollywood choreographer. It opened to mixed reviews in the UK last month and ends its run next week. In the “dancical”, as Shetty calls it, she plays Maya, a “fresh off the boat Indian” who lands in London and dreams of establishing her own dance academy. Does the character encounter any bullying and racism? “She is bullied by a diva!” Shetty laughs.

Although officially single, Shetty’s personal life has been just as high profile as her career over the past year. Her squeaky clean image took a beatingk when she was accused of being a home-wrecker by the wife of a businessman and film producer, who sold the story to a UK tabloid. Then a kiss with Richard Gere at a function in New Delhi created controversy, although most of the anger was directed towards the Hollywood actor, who was accused of indecency.

Life has certainly changed since January, when Shetty first entered the CBB house. Back then the former model’s film career was on the wane. After debuting opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Baazigar (1993), Shetty enjoyed a golden period in the late Nineties sizzling in hits like Main Khiladi Tu Anari (1994) and Dhadkan (2000), opposite her alleged cheating ex-boyfriend Akshay Kumar.

But by 2003 the lead roles had dried up, and younger actresses such as Kareena Kapoor and Bipasha Basu had emerged and raced past her. No major director was willing to cast her. An attempt at arthouse cinema with the film Phir Milenge (2004), in which she played a woman discriminated against because of her HIV status, failed to revive her career.

At 31, Shetty was at a professional crossroads and faced a hard career choice: dye her hair and take on mother roles or get married and quit acting. Shetty chose to gamble it all instead.

The risk paid off. CBB rejuvenated her flagging career. Not only did she emerge as the eventual winner, but she created international headlines after her fellow housemates were accused of alleged bullying and racism towards “the Indian”. A diplomatic row between India and Britain very nearly erupted.

But if it was a year of far-flung fame, Shetty’s future Bollywood prospects now appear bleak. She has no major forthcoming films, Hollywood beckoned, via the upcoming Pink Panther sequel, but Aishwarya Rai won out.

What’s next for the surgically enhanced star? Shetty tells me: “I want to consolidate my current position, release a yoga DVD, write my autobiography and a cookery book and I want a tattoo!”

Whether Shetty can reinvent herself in 2008 remains to be seen, but it is undeniable that the dignified diva has been responsible for firmly entrenching awareness of Bollywood on the global cinematic map, especially in the UK. Today, if you ask a Brit if he knows anything about Bollywood, the answer will most likely be: “Shilpa Shetty”.

Miss Bollywood plays at London's Royal Albert Hall until December 12, 2007

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