'Where do I have the time to breathe?'

NEW VENTURE

When I get into a business, I have to be able to give back. That is what drives me. It is not about making more money. That will happen eventually,” says Shilpa Shetty Kundra.

“It has always been my dream to be able to give back to somebody. And my business has been like that always,” says the star who has already introduced affordable gold and is now all set to sell her designer saris under the brand ‘SSK’.
“Like a typical wife, I sometimes ask Raj what to wear. But I think Raj asks me more about what to wear than I ask him. He trusts my sensibilities more,” she bursts into a loud laugh. Soon she turns serious and mentions about actors being written about for their clothes.

“We have so many portals that write about us, judge us and some totally rip us apart. But I don’t care. I wear something to make myself happy. And I think all the women who buy saris buy because they want to feel and look glamorous,” she says smartly mentioning about her sari ra­nge during the conversation.

And when it comes to business, the price range and the affordability is always under consideration. In contrast to her contemporaries Malaika Arora Khan and Bipasha Basu, she has chosen to keep the price within the budget of common buyers.

“I am somebody who has always been very classy, but I have always catered to the masses all my life. Masses make an actor successful, multiplexes don’t! So if a housemaid comes wearing a SSK sari, I will take that as the biggest compliment in my life.”   

It is, however, not true that she has started designing only now. “I used to design for my friends and family. In fact for saris my secret tip is to always go for white and beige, colours which can be dyed later. Remember, the orange-brown kaftan I wore when I came out of ‘Big Brother’ house? It was originally designed in beige,” she smiles.While one would think that she wants to try her hands at everything, Shilpa interrupts saying, “I am a full-time mother and a part-time professional.”
She adds, “I’m so busy and going nuts. Where do I have the time to even breathe?” she questions.