Celebrities

Mumbai: Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty was surprisingly missing as host of the popular reality show 'Bigg Boss 2' last week. The glamorous actress said that she couldn't shoot for the episode due to the three-day strike by cinema and television workers. While other film folk just stayed away from the studios, Shilpa, who was unaware of the strike, flew from Singapore to Mumbai and drove all the way to Karjat (on the outskirts of Mumbai) on October 3 for the shooting, only to find herself caught in a peculiar situation.

On reaching Karjat, she was told that she may not be allowed to shoot. But before Shilpa could backtrack, she was assured that a solution was being worked out with the striking workers even as she waited on Friday to record for the show. "It was quite a nightmare. I waited the whole day at Karjat for my shooting, and finally left without doing so. That's why I was missing on Friday's episode of 'Bigg Boss'. So many people have been calling and messaging thinking I'm unwell or something's wrong. But I couldn't shoot because of the strike," Shilpa said.

Until just an hour before the Friday episode of 'Bigg Boss 2', Shilpa was told that the strike would end and she would quickly record. It was a crucial episode because Sambhavna was evicted that day. "I was on standby till the last minute hoping that the strike will be called off in time. But by the time we got news of the strike being called off it was too late. The 'Bigg Boss' housemate Sambhavna had to be evicted without my participation," Shilpa said. Bollywood technicians and workers went on a strike on October 1 to demand less working hours, better pay and timely payment. They called it off on October 3 after the producers' association agreed to most of their demands. (IANS)