Being in the US somehow gets me much closer to India than ever before. The homesickness is marked by a daily visit to most off the popular news sites (read NDTV.com, Rediff.com and Indianexpress.com)
Like everyday I sat down with a cup of Mocha Nut Fudge (Yeah Yeah you start using all these fancy names for a plain simple cup of coffee here) glasses tipping off my nose, awaiting the familiar NDTV 24*7 and Indian express with all its advertisement pop ups to pop up on my laptop. Today unlike most other days, both sites seem to have the same headline splashed over- just that Indian Express decided to be a bit more personal about it.
“Shilpa wins ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ “Atta Girl! I would have said had it not been for the Racism Hungama which has been looming large over “our” shilpa for the last few days.
Reading the articles made me wonder what kind of damage had this so called Racism actually done to shilpa, India or for that matter the show itself. As a matter of fact none.
Shilpa had only benefited and India had nothing really to do with the whole “Tamasha”. As far as the show goes the producers must have never dreamt in their wildest dreams that increasing viewer ship to millions within a week was an achievable target. Though I must confess watching politicians scurrying around trying to be at their diplomatic best, the show hitting the top headlines of the day, “Anti Racism” signature campaigns being held did make me wonder whether this was the beginning of world war III or whether the Media and Politicians really had nothing better to cover and worry about.
Meanwhile what happened to the one who had to tolerate all the racist slurs and comments those big bad ladies spat out at her?
As of today the racism victim has made her way up most popularity charts, hired UK’s top notch publicist to manage her international work, won sympathy from hundreds of thousands across continents and has been crowned to the Big Brother throne
What more could an actress who had been on her way out of the Bollywood show business ask for?
The first Indian celebrity to have ever participated and won “Big Brother”
Now isn’t that a record made? What the heck I think she deserves the compliment I was so hesitant to give her- Atta Girl Shilpa!
