Shilpa Shetty, winner of the 2007 Celebrity Big Brother UK, will now host Big Boss 2, the Indian version of the format.

Shilpa says that her experience in Big Brother UK will help her empathise with the 14 contestants who will be housebound for 85 days, with Shilpa being the only contact with the outside world.

Big Boss 2 will be aired on Colors from Monday to Sunday at 10 PM, starting August 17, 2008.  Colors, Viacom18’s Hindi entertainment channel, has acquired the television rights for Endemol production Big Boss 2.

During her stay at the Big Brother house in the UK, Shilpa Shetty was caught in a racism controversy, with allegations of bullying and racist comments directed at her by housemates Jane Goody, Jo O’Meara, and Danielle Lloyd. The treatment meted out to Shilpa Shetty caused immense public outrage.

Channel 4 that aired Celebrity Big Brother, came in for a good bit of flak. Carphone Warehouse withdrew its sponsorship of the show and India’s External Affairs ministry lodged an official complaint. The matter even reached the British Parliament with Tony Blair condemning racism. Channel 4 denied that there were any racist incidents but did admit that there were cultural skirmishes.

Shilpa Shetty was paid Rs 31.5 million for participating in the Celebrity Big Brother show. With days to go for the launch of Big Boss 2, Shilpa Shetty has said that Big Brother taught her a lot, and that the show reveals what people are really like. Shilpa also said that she understands how difficult it is to live with strangers in a house cut off from the outside world with no one to trust.

The Big Boss 2 winner will take home Rs 7.5 million. Unlike last time, Big Boss 2 will have a mix of newsmakers and everyday people. The names of the participants have not been revealed yet but rumors say that the likes of Aamir Khan’s younger brother Faisal Khan, Rakhi Sawant’s boyfriend Abhishek Awasthi, and Shakti Kapoor will take part in Big Boss 2.