When newspaper declared Shilpa Shirodkar SHOT DEAD, her family panicked: 'There were 20-25 missed calls'

Shilpa Shirodkar once had to deal with a shocking rumour that she had died. A newspaper printed a headline saying that Shilpa had been shot dead, which scared everyone who knew her. Her family and friends started calling her in a panic to check if she was alright.

She later talked about this incident in an interview and shared how difficult that time was for her. The rumour was connected to her 1995 film 'Raghuveer', an action film that starred Suniel Shetty. People had started spreading the word that Shilpa had been shot dead on the sets of the film.

Shilpa Shirodkar recalled coming back to 20-25 missed calls

Talking to Pinkvilla, Shilpa looked back at the incident and described the panic that had gripped her family back home while she was completely unaware of what was happening.

"I was in Kullu Manali. My dad was trying to call the hotel because we didn't have mobile phones at that time. I was shooting with Suniel Shetty there. Everyone who was watching the shoot there kept thinking if this is Shilpa or someone else because they knew the news," she recalled.

The situation only got more overwhelming when she wrapped up her day's work and headed back to her hotel room, where she was met with a string of unanswered calls waiting for her.

"When I came back to the room, there were around 20-25 missed calls. My parents were worried, there was a headline in a newspaper that Shilpa Shirodkar was shot dead," she shared.

Shilpa Shirodkar found out it was all a publicity stunt

It was only later that Shilpa discovered the truth behind the whole episode, that it had been a deliberate publicity stunt pulled off by the film's producer to generate buzz around the film. When she finally found out, she seemed more surprised than angry about the whole thing.

"When he told me, I was like 'Okay'. Yes, thoda zyada hogaya. There was no PR activity or anything at that time. Kuch pata hi nahi tha na. I was the last one to know that something like this was going to happen.

No one used to take permission at that time. The film worked well, so I wasn't really angry," she said with a shrug of acceptance.

Shilpa Shirodkar's successful run in Bollywood

Shilpa was considered one of the most sought-after actresses of the 1990s, having carved a name for herself with a string of successful films. Her impressive body of work included titles such as 'Khuda Gawah', 'Aankhen', 'Pehchaan', 'Hum', 'Bewafa Sanam', 'Mrityudand' and 'Gopi Kishan', among others.