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What’s with Mallika Sherawat impressing foreign directors? At first, it was Jackie Chan in Myth, and now it is Bill Bannerman, Hollywood stalwart Clint Eastwood’s right-hand man. After screening faces across continents for his mainstream Hollywood film Unveiled, the director has given the nod to Mallika.

Mallika’s will be seen in a highly performance-oriented role (finally!). Bannerman says, “Behind the dark burkha, there lies a sexy, manipulative victim, whose life is in grave danger. But she is very dangerous too.” The film revolves around the life of a Muslim woman who has two husbands and a lover. It will be a blend of film noir, thriller and dark drama.

Bill has been working on the casting for a long time now and considered many actresses for the role, before zeroing in on Mallika, that is. Sources reveal, “Hillary Swank and Penelope Cruz had shown interest, but they wanted the actress to be a South Asian or from the Middle East so that she could portray the character of a Muslim woman from the Middle East, and lend a degree of authenticity in terms of accent, body language, knowledge of customs, etc.”

Closer home, Mallika managed to beat actresses Aishwarya Rai and Shilpa Shetty to it. “Aishwarya Rai and Shilpa Shetty were strong contenders. But speculations are rife that Aishwarya Rai had date problems and her impending marriage plans would have been a possible hindrance. As for Shilpa Shetty, she only has a big name. In reality, she still hasn’t signed anything worthwhile so far,” says our source. Bill Bannerman is arriving in Mumbai today to make an official announcement.

Rahul Bose is known to be suave, sensible, a smooth-talker with a great sense of humour. So, one would assume that nothing can really make him go red in the face. However, one thing that really came close to that was Mallika Sherawat dressed in red. Rahul loves the deep shade of red so much, that while shooting for Pyar Ke Side Effects, Rahul’s jaw fell flat, when Mallika appeared wearing a red-coloured backless dress for one scene. The scene was about Rahul being out on a date with her, and the frame couldn’t have looked more real with a smitten Bose gaping at his lady-love. Now was it the colour red, or was it Mallika? Our guess is as good as yours!

Ever imagined bombshell Mallika Sherawat as a plain Jane? Well, in her forthcoming film, Pyar Ke Side Effects, she will appear sans warpaint, a far cry from her raunchy image so far. Sophie Chowdhury will provide the glamour quotient instead.

Pritish Nandy, producer of the film says, “Mallika is a fine actress and I think she has the ability to rediscover herself by doing different roles. No producer has dared to challenge her image or given her a serious role. However, I genuinely believe that she is very effective in the movie and has a lot more to offer through the film. The idea is not to make Mallika look like Mother Teresa, but to make her look different. She has a wonderful role in the film. She is witty, and her performance tugs at the heartstrings. The look is simple but in no way boring,” he says.

As for Sophie, who takes over from Mallika in the film, Nandy says, “Sophie is delightfully funny and plays an item girl called Baby Doll Volume 3. She plays a hip and contemporary, wannabe singing star.”

When a film has an unusual lead pair, it increases curiosity and garners good initial collection at the box-office. Like when Aamir Khan and Kajol starred together for the first time in Fanaa. According to a reliable source, the next pair we will see together on the silver screen will be Salman Khan and Mallika Sherawat.

We’ve already said that Sherawat will do a Goldie Hawn in Fauj Mein Mauj, a desi version of Private Benjamin. To be directed by Priyadar shan’s erstwhile assistant, Murli Nagavalli for producer Ravi Walia, the film traces what happens when a young widow joins the army. Fauj… takes a funny view of how life for the cadets changes when she joins them. There will be two men opposite Sherawat, one who briefly plays her husband and the other who meets as a cadet.

While the male leads have not yet been announced, our source tells us, “In all probability, Salman will play the lead opposite Mallika,” and further elaborates, “It happened during the Rock Stars world tour. He was impressed when she supported his demand that the stars pay a token amount to the choreographers and their dancers for the cancelled shows. That’s when Mallika mentioned that they were still looking for a star opposite her in Fauj… Salman expressed an interest in hearing the script on his return to Mumbai.” Walia, who is in Singapore for his film starring Aftab Shivdasani, Riteish Deshmukh and Ayesha Takia under E Nivas, said, “It’s too early to comment. I’ll let you know only when everything is finalised.” It is a heroine-centric film. But to fit Salman into the film means that his role has to be on par with Sherawat. “And that’s why the script is being reworked, giving more scope for their chemistry,” maintained our source. So when you hear about Khan and Sherawat setting the screen afire, remember you read it hear first.

Rumours have been flying fast and furious about the trouble between the golden couple Bipasha Basu and John Abraham. Now there’s more buzz. It’s said that bombshell Mallika Sherawat is the reason behind the rift. It was Mallika’s proximity to John during their recent world tour that upset Bipasha, say sources. Bipasha did take time out from her shooting schedule in London to go and cheer John at his show in Birmingham and everything seemed fine till then. However, trouble began when she heard of the John-Mallika link-up.

“Things are definitely not fine between John and Bipasha after the whole Mallika rumour. There is a crack in the relationship, but they have not split,” says a source. John, who was in Cape Town has just returned to Mumbai and so has Bipasha who was shooting in Namibia. “It’s just a lovers’ quarrel between John and Bipasha,” says a close friend of the couple. “All relationships go through ups and downs. It’s not unusual. John and Bipasha are very much together,” the friend adds.

Mallika Sherawat is known for her histrionics and her love-hate relationship with the media, but of late the queen of oomph has gone totally off the press and isn’t doing any talking even when her film with Rahul Bose is awaiting release. Mallika did the same thing on the eve of the release of Subhash Ghai’s Shaadi Se Pehle, and even refused to promote it, prompting a fuming Ghai to apparently swear never to work with her again. “She wants to keep a low profile and stay miles away from the media for the time being,” says a source close to the star. Wonder why the sudden change in her behaviour and what she’s trying to hide?

It’s always interesting to see two actors with completely different images come together on screen. So when actor Rahul Bose teamed up with the sultry Mallika Sherawat for Pyaar Ke Side Effects, we wondered what would make them tick. In fact, it turned out, even Rahul and Mallika were themselves apprehensive about being cast together. “They were amused that someone can think of casting them together,” reveals producer Pritish Nandy, “But after reading the script, both readily agreed and now the chemistry that both share in the promos has become a talking point.” Looks like unusual pairings are the order of the day in Bollywood.

No Entry director Anees Bazmee’s next, Welcome, for Feroz Nadiadwala just got hotter. The filmmaker has added Mallika Sherawat to a cast comprising Anil Kapoor, Nana Patekar, Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif and Paresh Rawal. Confirming the news, Bazmee said, “Yes, Mallika has been signed opposite Anil Kapoor and Nana Patekar.” Its first schedule has already been shot in Dubai. Bazmee declined to elaborate. “It’s too early to reveal the plot. But after a total comedy like No Entry, this one’s a romantic comedy.” Another key addition to the cast is likely to be Feroz Khan. “I can only talk about it in a week, when everything is confirmed,” Bazmee said.

This piece of news is a shocker. Reports says that Mallika Sherawat was apparently approached by a leading South banner to do an item number. And guess what Sherawat’s reply was? She apparently claimed she doesn’t do item numbers, and she would make an exception only if she was the leading lady of the film. Wonder what prompted her to do an item number in Mani Ratnam’s Guru? But then we don’t blame her; for Mani Bollywood actors are willing to do anything!