BOLLYWOOD actress Shilpa Shetty, best known for winning the British version of television show Celebrity Big Brother, married in a lavish ceremony in India yesterday.
Shetty, 34, wed London-based businessman Raj Kundra in Khandala, a hill resort near Mumbai, with friends, family and showbusiness colleagues attending the Hindu service and all-night celebrations.
The Indian actress became famous outside of her home country when she won the reality TV show in 2007 after being subjected to allegedly racial comments from fellow contestant Jade Goody.
Shetty has not broken through into major film roles, but she has remained one of Bollywood’s most talked-about and photographed figures.
“This is it!” she wrote on her blog yesterday, describing how her life had “been turned upside down, inside out in the past week as the marriage is nearing.”
“All is in order, friends and family have got together,” she said, adding that she looked forward to meeting fans under her new name “Shilpa Shetty Kundra”.
With her acting career stuck in slow gear, Shetty has turned entrepreneur – launching perfume brands, filming yoga videos and investing in restaurants and health spas.
But she told the Times of India in an interview yesterday that she now has domestic ambitions too.
“This is my dream wedding. We plan to shuttle between Mumbai and London after marriage. I shall strive to be as successful at home as I am outside. I want to excel as a homemaker,” she said.
Shetty also tackled criticism that she was marrying a millionaire divorcee.
“Let’s be positive. Raj is experienced and hopefully won’t make the same mistakes again,” she said, adding that “we are used to a certain lifestyle and it’s practical to choose a spouse who can at least match those luxuries, if not more.”
“There’s nothing wrong in looking forward to a comfortable life. But money isn’t everything. Raj and I connect on a different level,” she said.
