Shilpa Shetty's Bollywood musical savaged by critics

The Bollywood actress became a household name after she stood up to Big Brother bullies Jade Goody and Danielle Lloyd and ex-S Clubber Jo O'Meara.

But critics have savaged her new show, with one branding it an "ill-conceived, half-baked star vehicle".

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Panned: Shilpa Shetty's latest venture, musical Miss Bollywood has been panned by critics

Shilpa stars in the show which is set in London in the run-up to the 2012 Olympics.

Mayor Benjamin (Josh Moran) has decided that his opening gala should be a celebration of cultural diversity at the same time as he decrees the demolition of some of the buildings standing in the way of the building of an Olympic Village.

And Shetty plays Maya, a naïve and modest dancer who has come from India to invest all of her savings into a Bollywood Dance Academy in one of the buildings.

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Disappointment: It is the latest in a string of disappointments for Shilpa since leaving the Big Brother house following the racist row which catapulted her to fame

The show, scripted by the Bollywood screenwriter Niranjan Iyengar, exploits Shetty's Celebrity Big Brother ordeal, which at the time caused a national outcry.

And it includes jokes about her notorious kissing encounter with Richard Gere, which saw the star disgraced in her homeland and almost prosecuted for indecency.

The Times' arts critic Sam Marlowe dismissed the show as "lacklustre".

Marlowe said: "It's a shame that, having endured Celebrity Big Brother with such dignity, she has gone on to capitalise on the experience with a substandard project that reeks of cynicism."

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He added: "The dancers are mechanical, the script diabolical, the acting amateurish and the costumes look nastily cheap.

"It all lacks brio and excitement; and though she is elegant to the last, Shetty alone isn't enough to make it worthwhile."

Critic Kevin Bourke of the Manchester Evening News was a little kinder. He said: "...the last twenty minutes or so of this Bollywood-on-stage fantasy are fantastic fun...".

But he added: "With its Big Brother, Richard Gere and 'goody, goody' gags, the show can feel like a panto".

It is the latest in a string of disappointments for Shetty who has failed to capitalise on her fame since leaving the Big Brother house.

Miss Bollywood is currently touring the UK. Visit website www.missbollywoodmusical.com for more details.