Shilpa challenges Baba Ramdev?

Last month, Shilpa Shetty's fitness DVD 'Shilpa's Yoga' emerged a sell-out in the European markets, beating other fast-selling workout videos of fitness specialists Davina McCall, Samanda, Erin Boag, Karen Hardy, Rebecca Wheatley, Nell McAndrew, Fleur Murray, Lilia Kopylova, Gaynor Faye and Danielle Llyod.

After topping the charts abroad, the popular DVD is being dubbed in Hindi and readied for a grand release in India a few weeks from now.

The home-video giant Shemaroo has struck a whopping exclusive deal with Shilpa to release it on her home turf. Needless to say, her DVD will come in straight competition with the DVDs of Baba Ramdev, who almost rules the market of yoga education products in India.

When quizzed about the competition with the extremely popular Baba Ramdev VCDs and DVDs here, the actress' publicist Dale Bhagwagar said, "Shilpa is the sexiest yogi the world has ever seen. But it's unfair to compare her DVD with Baba Ramdev's. She is a kid in yoga, while Baba is a guru… a super gyaani in the world of yog. Shilpa can only bow before him."

Shilpa often takes a tip or two from Baba Ramdev's television programmes and even visited his camp at the Bandra Kurla Complex last month on his trip to Mumbai and presented him with a copy of her yoga DVD.

The DVD showcases the right techniques of doing ashtanga yoga including breathing techniques. "Apart from practicing yoga daily for four years, Shilpa took special added intensive training from yoga trainers Shiv Kumar Mishra and Vinayak Dixit for some time, making sure she perfected the asans before demonstrating them to the world. Everyone wants to maintain a slim waist without dieting and Shilpa's yoga secrets will help achieve that," added Bhagwagar.

Shot at the backwaters in Kerala, the DVD is produced by Shilpa's newly launched production house 'S2 Global Productions' and directed by Manish Jha (of the critically-acclaimed feature films 'Matrabhoomi' and 'Anwar' fame). While Arghya Lahiri has written the script, the camerawork is handled by Englishman Jamie Sowlds.

Showing off her flexible physique, the actress reveals her fitness secrets to create a lean and toned body while retaining all the feminine curves. Outlining the various benefits of yoga, the DVD demonstrates specific sequences to enhance concentration, agility and flexibility. Through it, she explains how to transform mind, body and soul, with unique ways to build stamina and get revitalized, while discovering inner peace.

To go with the mood and feel, the package also contains a free lounge music CD with compositions by Pankaj Awasthi. This is to help unwind and relax after practicing the yoga techniques.