/> Shilpa Shetty is back in Mumbai ready to work in her own territory again. The last one year after Big Brother has been a rollercoaster ride for Shilpa taking her from Bollywood to Europe where she let them have a succulent taste of Bollywood in her well-received musical.

Shilpa looks back at the past year with much happiness and affection.

Did you miss Bollywood, Miss Bollywood?
It has been a time of great experiences. In the last three months I've been taking my play Miss Bollywood to the remotest corners of Europe.

This was my first experience on stage and also gave me a chance to take Bollywood abroad. It was not just lucrative but also a very creatively satisfying experience. And now I've come back to do Sunny Deol's home production The Man.

I'm a huge fan of his work. And I admire him as a humanbeing. I loved his first directorial venture Dillagi. Every time we're paired together we are a success. And I've got a fantastic role. I play an actress.

Are you back for good?
What do you mean? This is my home. Everyone thinks I've shifted base. But if I'm touring with a musical all over Europe I've to be out for two months at a stretch.

How was the experience of doing Miss Bollywood?
With due respects to all the other Bollywood stage adaptations like Andrew Llloyd Webber's Bollywood Dreams and Merchants Of Bollywood, they've all been fantastic, Miss Bollywood was a hardcore Bollywood musical strarring a Bollywood actress.

I belong to Bollywood. I think I added a certain authenticity to the play. It was a very proud achievement for me to take a slice of Bollywood out West. I felt specially proud to perform at the Royal Albert Hall.

What were the most memorable experiences during the musical?
There were good and some bad. The worst was when my zipper tore in Offenbach (Germany) twenty seconds before I was to go on stage.I do't know how but my dresser managed to stitch it back in time.

All the through that act I was on tenterhooks.It was such a scary moment! This was the one time when I wanted a re-take. And I couldn't have it.

And the good experiences?
Oh plenty! We got standing ovations in 95 percent of the performances. The last time we got a standing ovation was at the Royal Albert Hall.

It brought tears to my eyes.Gulshan Grover was there.I was so happy because he was so happy for me. He came backstage and said, 'I can't believe you pulled it off'. I felt so happy and proud to have one of my colleagues praising me.

Do feel welcome back home?
Of course, why not? I don't expect anything to change, except my price that has gone up (laughs). Everyone is making money.So why not me?

Back home I don't see the kind of work you should be getting.
I don't really care. Or think about it. As long as I've enough work on my plate. When I was in Qatar last week women came up to me and said they absolutely loved my work in Metro. It was a very subtle portrait.

I'm very proud of my performance in Metro. I know what I'm worth. And what's to come to me will come to me. I never expected people back home to start pampering me just because I've got a certain standing in the UK.

And I promise you, you'll have see a different Shilpa in The Man. Look, in the past I did whatever came my way. I got some great roles like Dhadkan, Rishtey and Phir Milenge.

I'm very happy as an actor. True I never received an award. But I was nominated. You can't win 'em all.

Not too many people in Bollywood are happy about your achievements.
I know. That's really sad, isn't it?

Did you get better with each performance of Miss Bollywood ?
Definitely all those who saw the play were surprised. No one thought I could pull it off. At least I didn't think I could do it. I guess the whole experience showed my sheer love for the art.

It took tremendous amounts of dedication and commitment. It's a different matter to do random stage shows. But to be actually on stage for two hours is very taxing.

But the most interesting part of the experience was that people who came to watch me had seen me on Big Brother and wanted to know me as an actress. They had seen the real me, they wanted to see the actress. It's really weird.

Usually it's the other way around. People know you as an actress on screen then they want to know the real you. In the UK it was just the opposite.

The big development in your life is love. You've acknowledged Raj Kundra in the British press?
No I didn't! The British press asked me about my love life. And I said yes, I was dating someone. To that they added their own bits. Then the Indian press got wind of it.

After having spoken openly about my personal life in the past I'm not too comfortable discussing it. I'm not going to hide the fact that I'm in love. Maybe I'm just a little superstitious.

How much difference has love made to your life?
The good thing is that it happened in my life while all those good things were happening to me professionally. So everything fell into place. I don't want too much speculation on this. The next thing I know they'll be marrying me off.

So is marriage on the cards?
The day it is on the cards, I'll distribute them personally.