Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty, who has become a household name in Britain after enduring racist bullying on "Celebrity Big Brother" reality show, launched a charitable foundation in her name to raise AIDS awareness in India.

The actress, who had a brief meeting with British Prime Minister Tony Blair in the House of Commons, launched the Shilpa Shetty Foundation amid chaos in Leicester, about 100 km from here, where she was forced to abandon a visit to a local radio station after zealous fans mobbed her preventing her from leaving her car.

The admirers of the 31-year-old star, who had won the TV reality show, waited for hours in the cold for a chance to see the Indian actress who arrived on Wednesday in the city, home to a large Indian population.

Addressing the visitors who had each paid five pounds to see her in Leicester, Shilpa said the AIDS issue has been "very, very close" to her heart for the last four years.

"India is the second largest affected country in the world with AIDS. So I think it is important to do something about it and it is every person's right to live with dignity in our country, even if it's a person who is HIV positive."

She said "It's very difficult to do that only because there's no awareness and I am going to do my bit to support that and I think starting this organisation is really going to help us try a new beginning."

The star, who has denied her fellow housemates were racist, has seen her profile rise since leaving the house with several TV appearances and public engagements.

Shilpa said, she would be publishing a book on her Big Brother experience but denied rumours of her entering politics.

"I've never been politically inclined," Shilpa said.

Shilpa had travelled to the Belgrave area of Leicester, a well known part of the city famed for its annual Diwali celebrations which are the biggest in the world outside India, along with local NRI MP Keith Vaz, former minister for Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Shilpa won 63 per cent of Big Brother's final public vote after alleged racist bullying prompted a record number of complaints - more than 40,000 - to the media watchdog Ofcom.