UNI

Mumbai, Jun 7: Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty's publicist and spokesman Dale Bhagwagar has reiterated that the 'obscenity case' filed against her in Madurai was a publicity stunt by an advocate and she had not received any summons.

Reacting to reports that Shilpa Shetty has received legal summons and a non-bailable warrant, the spokesman said, ''though a case has been filed, Shilpa has not received any summons.''

''It seems to be yet another publicity stunt on the part of those who want to gain mileage by suing celebrities, to be known and famous in their hometowns. Shilpa is a responsible actress and citizen and would never participate in anything crude. She is being made a scapegoat, paying the price for being a celebrity, and that too, on an issue which is as frivolous as terming a simple and decent photograph as obscene,'' he added.

The photograph in question is actually a freeze-frame shot from her recent superhit Kannada film 'Auto Shankar' which co-starred southern-hearthrob Upendra. The photo was used by the makers from the 'censored' version of the movie (which has been approved for universal viewing), for promotion purposes on publicity hoardings.

From here, it was lifted and published by a Tamil eveninger called 'Tamil Murasu', referring to which, the case has been filed by an advocate in Madurai.

"This is not a photo-shoot picture for which Shilpa has posed, neither can it be termed as one to offend sensibilities," he added.