World's gone crazy!

Me thinks the world has gone crazy. I haven't posted anything this week because I didn't have much to type about, but the events over the past few days have changed all that. Yes, the world was already pretty crazy, but the past few days have only confirmed that further. And it's all been about a Bollywood actress. Already many people have commented in newspapers and blogs, so I thought that today I’d add in my opinion, for what it’s worth.

A quick reminder for those who've had their head in the sand for the past few days. Celebrity Big Brother saw the arrival of Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty and over the past 3 days the show has come in for heavy criticism because some of the housemates have been taunting and bullying Shetty in a perceived racist tone. As a result, it has lead to widespread discussion in the UK and India. The issue has been covered by both broadsheet and tabloid newspapers, Shetty is making headline news on every news channel and programme and even the Prime Minister and Chancellor have commented on the situation. All in all, a vast amount of coverage and attention for Shetty.

First of all, I must deal with a few myths that have been doing the rounds during the furore. Shilpa Shetty is not an A-list star. Having made over 50 films, only 2 or 3 have been successful. She has never won an award for her acting, neither, do I think, has she been ever nominated for one. India has 5 or 6 big award shows each year and she has never won. In a land of over a billion people, where Bollywood is like a religion, of course she will have many fans, but A-list she is definitely not! If she was, then surely she wouldn't have time to take out 3 months to appear on the show. A-list stars are just as huge in India as they are in Hollywood, can you imagine Angelina Jolie appearing on Big Brother? Thought not.

Pictures have also been reeled in from India showing the public burning effigies of the producers of the programme. This is not hard to arrange in India! All it needs is a few rupees and the presence of cameras to get people to do pretty much anything. I'm sure the media probably paid a few people to stand in front of the camera and burn a few dolls.

The Indian media have also got involved, the same media that barely batted an eyelid when she first arrived on the show. She got next to no coverage then, the focus was on India's own version of the show: Celebrity Big Boss, with stars of various TV dramas locked in the house. Only when the alleged racism started did they begin to show any interest. Now, even the Indian Government has got involved, calling for action to be taken and diplomats are even saying that the row is damaging Britain's reputation.

How pissed off must Gordon Brown be feeling right now? Visiting India for the first time, he finds himself dragged into the controversy and having to issue statements about Britain not standing for racism. In the UK, even Tony Blair has made a comment abhorring any racism that takes place in this country. This morning, 5Live reported that 21 MPs had signed a petition to have the show cancelled and taken off air.

As for the main protagonists, they remain blissfully unaware of what has been going on outside the Big Brother house. Shetty last night, for the first time, claimed that she has become a victim of racism in the house and things could really take off from here. Already, Ofcom has received well over 20,000 complaints about the alleged racism towards Shetty.

However, all things considered it has actually been extremely successful for Shilpa Shetty, she's received more coverage and attention then she could've dreamed of. Having received over £350,000 just to appear on the show, the money she'll make once she comes out will be huge. Bookies are already making her odds-on favourite to win the show. She is now more recognised in the UK then any other Indian celebrity, more recognised then Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan! For Bollywood fans like myself, that is difficult to comprehend.

To an extent, Shetty knows what she is doing. She is a professional actress, successful or not, she knows how to act and is performing brilliantly, milking the attention and sympathy. Her fellow housemates don't know how to handle her and have revealed their true colours. I was hoping to get through this blog without even mentioning Jade Goody who having appeared on Big Brother 3 has become a so-called celebrity, what an absolute disgrace! Someone who thought that East Anglia was abroad is now considered a celebrity. The past few days have showed what she really is - a working class, council home raised, trashy, unintelligent piece of crap! I'm sorry for the anger, but she really is revolting.

What the past few days have shown is that the other contestants feel threatened by Shetty and are responding in the only way the know how, lowering themselves to cheap comments and insults that they would engage in everyday life, but now their comments are broadcast to the entire nation. They represent a large proportion of the working-class in this country, which in turn forms a large part of the population of the UK, and it's sad to see their true opinions are what they are. I'm not sure I would label it entirely as racism, but perhaps anti-cultural or anti-ethnic. Politicians are trying to advertise the fact that the UK is a tolerant country when infact it's not.

It will be no surprise if Shetty wins the show and receives more attention and wealth as a result. She has raised her profile infinitely and if that was her main aim then she has succeeded beyond any realistic expectation. If you break it down, it's all because 3 girls couldn't help themselves and revealed their true feelings about her which can be reasonably extrapolated to the entire country. But all in all, well done to Shilpa Shetty, perhaps Celebrity Big Brother has turned out to be her best performance - award-winning maybe?

Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?