Shilpa Shetty spoke to Desi Hits about her next moves!

So when are you going West next, Shilpa? "Well, I may be in the West for the India Day Parade in New York to be the Grand Marshall. It's an opportunity to celebrate being Indian and I'm looking forward to it because it's been going on for 29 years." We hear singer Jay Sean will be a guest at the parade with you, have you met him before? "I have met Jay. He's extremely talented. I hear they're expecting 60,000 people to show up and that's exciting."

Tell us about your experience on Big Brother UK? Was that your platform into the western world? "Totally. I have to give credit to Big Brother for rediscovering me. It was a good thing at the end of the day. I'm happy to have brought awareness to the issue of racism. I'm happy that people recognize me as someone who is not only Indian, but has made a name for herself in the global audience as well."

What did you think of the UK while you were there? "It must be really difficult to be discriminated against when living in a foreign country. When I got out of the Big Brother house, people received me with a lot of love and perceived me as someone with a great deal of patience and dignity, that's a compliment."

You had some controversy with Jade Goody at the Big Brother house with her racist remarks. Did you get to see her before she passed away? "Unfortunately, God bless her soul, she slipped into a coma the day I landed in London. I'm glad the air was cleared before she passed away and there were no ill feelings."

How was your return to India? "I've been working for the last 17 years now. I think the glamour always preceded the talent. It changed after Big Brother and I was internationally recognized, but I'm still the same person that I was, I haven't changed."

Do you keep in touch with Richard Gere after the controversy created when he kissed you on the cheek at an aids awareness event? "I was in Canada recently to present him with an award. I have a great deal of respect for him. I think that's one of the reasons I'm more well known in the West. Not a very good thing to be known for, but I've always believed you meet people for a reason, and through our work against AIDS discrimination and creating awareness, we were able to achieve what we set out to achieve."

I was internationally recognized, but I'm still the same person that I was, I haven't changed