Kannada film stars hail Shilpa's win

Bangalore, Feb 1 (IANS) The Karnataka film industry has hailed the "Big Brother" win by Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty, whose father hails from the state.

Shilpa, whose father is from the Dakshina Kannada district, has taken part in many Bunt - the Hindu community to which she belongs - conferences in Bangalore and Mangalore.

"I am really happy for Shilpa. While working with her, I found her to be a positive-thinking individual. The final voting has not come as a surprise to me. In the few clippings I watched on the channel, I thought she really represented the spirit of a young Indian trying to achieve something big," actor Upendra told IANS.

Another actor, Ravichandran, said: "Shilpa did not lose her self-confidence even when she was being attacked unfairly by her competitors. I think she showed tremendous guts and patience throughout the show. That must have made her the darling of the viewers."

Shilpa acted with Ravichandran in two Kannada films - "Preethsod Thappa" and "Ondagona Baa" - and Upendra in "Auto Shankar". She has also expressed a desire to act in more Kannada films.

D. Rajendra Babu, who directed Shilpa in "Auto Shankar" and "Rockline", has congratulated her for her win in the reality TV show, which was in the news for alleged racist slurs against her.

Producers Venkatesh and Ramu, who worked with her in two of their films, are also "pleased" with Shilpa's achievement.