Shilpa Shetty's literary faux pas sparks Twitter meme
Far from being a children's book the novella is a dystopian satire on 20th century dictatorship.
NEW DELHI (AFP) - Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty shot to fame when she won Big Brother in 2007, but on Monday she unwittingly betrayed her ignorance of George Orwell s work when she said Indian schoolchildren should read Animal Farm to learn how to care for animals.
Far from being a cuddly children s book the 1945 novella is a dystopian satire on twentieth-century dictatorship.
The star s literary faux pas quickly sparked a new meme in India, where Twitter users came up with hundreds of alternative suggestions under the hashtag #ShilpaShettyReviews.
"Fifty Shades of Grey is an amazing coloring book. Children will love it #ShilpaShettyReviews" tweeted Vishal Purohit.
"Nineteen Eighty Four is a book about discos, cocaine and lava lamps #ShilpaShettyReviews" posted Navin Noronha under the hashtag, which was the number one trending topic in India.
Shetty s comments appeared in a Times of India newspaper article about a new school syllabus for English literature.
Welcoming new additions such as Harry Potter, she said it was important to cultivate children s imagination -- and added that "Animal Farm should be included as it will teach the little ones to love and care for animals".
Shetty, 41, is one of Bollywood s most talked-about and photographed figures despite not having broken through in any major film roles.
She won fame when she was subjected to allegedly racist taunts on Britain s "Celebrity Big Brother" reality television series, named after the fictional character in George Orwell s Nineteen Eighty-Four.
Together with her husband she owns a stake in the Indian Premier League cricket team Rajasthan Royals.
