/> This weekend Sunanda Shetty finally left to be near her daughter in London. "To give her support. And to speak on her behalf if so required."

Mrs Shetty is dismayed by the opinion that her daughter is in Big Brother for the money. "By the grace of God, Shilpa has been successful enough. She has seen enough money during her career so far. She needn't go for a game show to make ends meet. We've enough to keep us well fed.

We don't need any more...As for the on-going debate on discrimination, let me tell you Shilpa has always been brought up to believe in equality of all humanbeings irrespective of caste religion or creed. We're Brahmins by birth.

But when I was young I'd always steal away to play with my servant's friends even though it was forbidden. That's the way I was brought up and that's the way Shilpa and Shamita have been brought up too. Shilpa must be shocked at being singled out on the show for her nationality."

Mrs Shetty laughed away at the opinion that Shilpa needed this break on Big Brother to revive her career. "Shilpa is doing some good films like Anil Sharma's Apne and Anurag Basu's Metro. She doesn't need to go on British television as a career option."