CTV.ca News Staff

Bollywood is showing support for film star Shilpa Shetty after widespread anger erupted over racial abuse she suffered while competing on the hit British show "Celebrity Big Brother."

The outrage emerged after fellow contestants made fun of Shetty's accent, her name and her cultural background. She was called a "dog" on an episode in which she was reduced to tears.

"What is happening on Big Brother is just holding the mirror to the Western society," leading Bollywood film maker Mahesh Bhatt told Reuters. "This is the real, discriminating face of the West you can see on the streets of London or New York."

Even Britain's prime-minister-in-waiting Gordon Brown, currently visiting India on a trade mission, found himself pressed to address the issue.

Here is the controversial episode (warning, some profanity)

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