‘Bollywood arrogance': Shilpa Shetty's 50th birthday bash goes wrong, video becomes viral; husband Raj Kundra clarifies

Mint

a day ago

A video showing a loud argument at a Croatian restaurant involving Shilpa Shetty has gone viral. The clip, reportedly from June 9, appears to show a tense moment between the Shetty family and a foreign diner, who allegedly asked them to lower their voices.
An Instagram account, which shared the video, claimed that the woman stayed calm, but Shilpa's team was heard saying, 'Don't talk to us, we don't want to hear you.'
The Instagram account has also claimed that such incidents can damage India's image internationally. He asked prominent news channels to discuss such matters and call out 'Bollywood arrogance'.
The viral video shows a crowd gathering and voices raised. However, it's unclear if it was Shilpa or her sister, Shamita Shetty.
Social media users were quick to react to the viral video.
'Indians do talk very loudly in cafes and kinda ruin the ambience even here in ndia when i go to restaurants. It is bad etiquette when you're in public,' wrote one user.
'Shilpa herself owns Bastian Hospitality. Nobody knows better etiquette and manners than her. I'm sure it's a Karen hating on Indians who had a problem (edited),' one user posted in the actress' defence.
'Personally witnessed many American tourists & Chinese talking loudly too in our Europe visits. But somehow Whites will call out loud Brown voices only. Imperialism has not ended,' came another reply.
Raj Kundra, who is in Croatia to celebrate Shilpa's 50th birthday, has now addressed the buzz.
Speaking to Hindustan Times, he explained the drama started when the restaurant gave away a table he had booked a year in advance to celebrate Shilpa Shetty's 50th birthday.
Raj shared his disappointment, saying he had planned the family trip for over a year. However, poor management at the restaurant spoiled it.
He accused the staff of showing no basic courtesy or responsibility, which made the whole experience very upsetting.
Raj said the restaurant blamed a 'double booking' by the same agent. Things got worse when Raj and his family were told to 'stay quiet'.
'As someone who has also run restaurants, I found the handling of the situation deeply frustrating especially with my elderly parents, mother-in-law and 20 guests left waiting,' Kundra told HT.
'What was meant to be a special evening turned unnecessarily stressful, and when we raised our concerns, we were abruptly told to stay quiet, which only added to our disappointment,' he said.
'After a year of planning, the lack of accountability or even basic courtesy from the restaurant management was extremely disheartening. I hope this puts the situation into perspective,' he added.
The interest in 'Shilpa Shetty' on Google India grew around her birthday (June 7-8): The interest in 'Shilpa Shetty' on Google India grew around her birthday (June 7-8)