Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty,  whose husband Raj Kundra was arrested last week for alleged production of pornographic films in a case that became titillating news fodder for television and social media, broke her silence on Monday as she pleaded against a "media trial" and asked them "to respect our privacy for my children's sake". 

In a statement issued on her Twitter handle, the 46-year-old actress, also a fitness guru, said the past few days had been challenging for her and her family and "there have been a lot of rumors and accusations. A lot of unwarranted aspersions on me cast by the media and (not so) well-wishers as well. A lot of trolling/questions posed.... not only to me but also to my family."

She said the matter was sub judice and hence she would refrain from any comments on the case. She also requested people, media not to attribute wrong quotes on her behalf.

Reiterating her philosophy as a celebrity of "Never complain, never explain", she said she had full faith in the Mumbai Police and the Indian judiciary. As a family however, she added, "we are taking recourse to all our available legal remedies."   Shilpa Shetty has not only acted in several Hindi films but is also a film producer, dancer, author, businesswoman and a former model. She married businessman Raj Kundra in 2009.

But as a mother of two small children she went on to request people "to respect our privacy for my children's sake and request you to refrain from commenting on half-baked information without verifying the veracity of the same.

"We don't deserve a media trial, let the law take its course," she pleaded. 

The Bombay High Court had on Friday refused to restrain media organisations and social media platforms from publishing information related to the actor and her husband, arrested for allegedly producing and distributing porn films, a charge Kundra has denied, saying she was a public figure and "you (Shetty) chose a public life. Your life is under a microscope".(SAM)