Shilpa Shetty gets big offer she can't refuse

By Shilpa Jamkhandikar

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty will host India's take on the British reality TV show "Celebrity Big Brother", which she unexpectedly won last year.

Shetty won the British show after allegations she had been racially abused.

She said she had never been tempted to enter India's version.

"I could never do it myself again, because I've done it once and it was really hard," the 33-year-old actress told Reuters on Thursday.

But as the host on India's "Bigg Boss," Shetty said relating to contestants was easier because she had gone through the experience herself.

"When I heard the concept, and the fact that I only needed to come in for one elimination round every week, I said OK," she said. "Plus they made me an offer I couldn't refuse."

"Bigg Boss", which starts on Aug. 17, was first telecast in India in November 2006 with Bollywood actor Arshad Warsi as host.

The show, which follows the international format, features 14 contestants closeted in a specially designed house for three months under 24-hour surveillance, with no access to telephones or television. Each week, one will be voted out.