Estranged wife blames Shilpa Shetty for marriage breakup

Bollywoood actress Shilpa Shetty is in the news once again, albeit for all the wrong reasons. British newspaper Daily Mail on July 22, 2007, carried details about an affair between non-resident Indian (NRI) businessman Raj Kundra and Shilpa Shetty, along with remarks from Kavita, 25, Kundra’s estranged wife.

The widely read London tabloid has gone all out against Shilpa Shetty, who became a celebrity in Britain after she won the television reality show ‘Celebrity Big Brother.’

Shilpa Shetty, a frequent flier between Mumbai (India) and London, has been accused of breaking the marriage of affluent NRI couple Raj Kundra and Kavita who reside in London. Kundra is a successful businessman and a film financier.

There have been reports recently claiming that Shilpa and Kundra were set to marry, with Kavita blaming her marital breakup on the actress. The Daily Mail quoted Kavita as saying, “My husband’s obsession with Shilpa Shetty has broken up our marriage.”

The tabloid elaborately reported how Kundra and Kavita separated in November 2006, weeks after their daughter Deleena was born.

Kavita, the tabloid said, lamented that Kundra was always enamoured by Bollywood and had a fling with another actress a year ago.

She said Kundra had been praising Shilpa and her family of late and that they liked him.

She added: “If he is planning to marry Shilpa, I would say to her, good luck. I was never the kind of wife he wanted. He always told me I wasn’t ambitious.”

News of the World quoted Kavita as saying, “Shilpa is a cultural icon in the Indian community, but she’s not what she appears. She can have any man she wants – there are plenty of single men. She didn’t need to go after my husband.”

Kundra confirmed to the Daily Mail that his marriage was over. He said about Shilpa: “I am the licenser of a perfume with Shilpa Shetty. We are just good friends. My wife has always tried to link me to any woman I have been associated with professionally. She is very insecure. I am divorcing her on the grounds of unreasonable behaviour – that she never supported my interests or wanted to go out with me.”

Kundra is the supporter of the perfume named S2, which Shilpa recently launched, and also her official representative in the United Kingdom. It seems that, over a period of time, the business association has grown to a personal one, as the two have been seen together at restaurants and also at a recent awards ceremony in Yorkshire.

Kundra was reportedly connected with Velocity Entertainment, which distributed the movie King Of Bollywood, starring Om Puri and Sophie Dahl, in the United Kingdom. He co-produced Mere Jeevan Saathi, featuring Akshay Kumar and Karisma Kapoor, but the film, whose production was delayed, was eventually buried. Yet another film, It Could Be You, was a failure at the box office.

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