'I am on the brink of a new beginning'

One can''t help but ask Shilpa Shettywhere she''s been all of last year. Her only release in 2003 was a cameo as awoman terrified by apples in Ram Gopal Varma''s. "Well, I have threereleases — ,and— this year, so I''ve beenworking very hard," she replies. At the time, when being in the news could makeor break an actor''s career, Shilpa has intentionally kept a lowprofile."I don''t think it makes sense to be seen (in the media) allthe time, unless you have something worthwhile to talk about."Thehottie celebrated her birthday last week, taking stock of the year that was,which essentially involved the controversy and the legal problems Shilpa''sfamily got entangled in. "My family got dragged into the mess only because I ama celebrity. There were moments when I regretted being a knownname."Though the case is subjudice, the upside as far as the Shettysare concerned is that the nightmare is over. "We''ve gotten over the whole thingbut it''s going to be tough to forget.Not only did this bringthe family closer, it''s made me more mature." Though this self-confessedworkaholic is happy with how her career''s shaped up, she''s looking forward tobetter things, which includes surprising her fans with her no make-up look in . "Actors have a lot ofmisconceptions about how characters should be portrayed.When we playeveryday characters, we tend to make them larger than life and very glamourous.Even after Revathy repeatedly told me not to wear any make-up, I would use alittle lipstick or something.I just felt too naked without it. Nowthat I have seen the film, I understand why it was important to keep thecharacter as real aspossible."have written off Shilpa''s career too many times for it to really affect her."Every time I''ve been written off, I''ve returned with a bang. This explains whyI love it when people say that my career is over. I feel like I am on the brinkof a new beginning."