She said the musical was about a day in the life of a Bollywood actress and would give Westerners a glimpse of Indian traditions and customs.

"I want foreigners to get familiar with Indian culture. Racism breeds out of ignorance," Shilpa was quoted as saying.

A famous actress in India, Shilpa became internationally known after winning reality show Celebrity Big Brother and the racism controversy involving fellow contestant Jade Goody.

The Bollywood beauty has acted in more than 40 movies since her 1993 debut. Her latest movie, Metro, is a Hindi-language film about careers pushing love to second place.


Shilpa gets Global Impact award - June 11 2007
Shilpa Shetty has spoken out about the need to fight racism after accepting a special award for Global Impact at the Bollywood Oscars.

The actress, who was at the centre of the Celebrity Big Brother race row in January, said she was overwhelmed by the award which recognised "no other role but the role I play in my life".

Commenting on her experiences over the past six months, she said: "I’m glad that whatever has come out of it has been very positive and I’m happy when I see the joy on Asian faces, I see the gumption to fight back for their dignity if people are ever trying to trample over them."

Shilpa was presented with the award by the International Indian Film Academy at the lavish ceremony on Saturday.

She added: "An actor always gets an award for the different characters we portray. I think this is the first time an actor’s got an award for the person she is so it cannot be a better award than this.

"I think the biggest award of all is when I see the love and appreciation on people’s faces."

She also revealed that she’s very excited about her next venture, a musical called Bollywood To Broadway.

"It’s going to be an international venture and then if everything goes right I will be doing a Hollywood film," she said.


Shilpa to dance at Bollywood awards - May 22 2007
Shilpa Shetty will be showing her moves in a string of Bollywood dance numbers at the Indian movie industry’s biggest awards ceremony in Britain.

The Celebrity Big Brother winner said she was thrilled to showcase Bollywood’s song and dance before a British audience at the International Indian Film Awards hosted by Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield, York and Hull next month.

"I am planning to perform to all the top songs of the year. I want to show the whole of England what Bollywood song and dance is all about," she told Mumbai-based DNA newspaper. "It’s definitely going to be an exciting experience."

The annual film awards, often referred to as Bollywood’s Oscars, were created seven years ago and are presented outside India to promote Indian films to an international audience.

Earlier ceremonies have been held in the United Arab Emirates, the Netherlands, London and Singapore.

Shilpa has acted in more than 40 Bollywood movies since her 1993 debut. Her latest movie release Metro is a Hindi-language film about careers pushing love to second place.

The 31-year-old has also been making the headlines after Richard Gere kissed her on her cheek at a public Aids awareness event - leading some Hindu activists to file obscenity cases against the pair, including one where a judge issued an arrest warrant for the actor.

India’s Supreme Court has temporarily suspended the arrest warrant and all legal proceedings against the pair until it decides on the proper jurisdiction for the case.

Shilpa’s movie plans - May 14 2007
Shilpa Shetty has revealed she hopes to balance art cinema with glitzier commercial films.