Mallika Sherawat - the mystery!

Two quick comments before I run away - my daughter just sent me an sms from Inox where she is watching 'Kites' ( Kati Patang). She says the hall is empty.... though the film isn't too bad. Oh hell . I'm booked to see it tomorrow and I'm groaning already.
But then my taste in movies is pretty absurd - I watched 'The Japanese Wife' on the dvd Rahul Bose sent across to my Bong husband.... and.... and.... quite liked it! I found it lyrical and sincere, just like most Bongs. I liked Rahul's earnestness and accent. And I ADORED Moushumi Chatterjee - why don't we see more of this juicy roshogulla in hindi films?? She is such a natural! As to why Aparna made this absurd film - don't ask. She's a Bong!
I went to check out Rahul Akerkar's latest venture, the Indigo Deli, in the sparkling Palladium Mall. Chef Joydeep makes the best, wafer thin parma ham and asparagus pizzas in the world. Period. Go there just for those and the unusual slushes. Try and ignore bratty, noisy kids with self conscious maids in tow, if you can. I couldn't! I nearly abandoned the brilliant pizza and fled!
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This appeared in Bombay Times today....
Horrible, isn’t it. Most of us remain rooted and stuck in our petty little worlds, when it comes to dealing with disasters and tragedies. The nasty tendency is to personalise it. The first, instinctive reaction generally goes something like this – “Oh God, thank the lord all my loved ones are safe and I didn’t know anybody on that ill fated flight!” Once that is out of the way, we then switch gears and start thinking about the victims …. their families. The enormity of the devastation sinks in well after we have dealt with our own fears and insecurities. We vow never to fly with the doomed airline again, never to fly with the entire family in the same plane, to avoid trips during the monsoons, and several other ‘dos and donts’ that are promptly forgotten before the week is out. As of now the already tattered reputation of our national airline, the pride and joy of India once upon a time, lies in shambles. The pointless blame game has begun. There are theories galore, and the foreign pilot is being blamed for the tragedy,which is an awful thing to do considering he isn’t around to defend himself. The minister has offered to resign – as if that helps matters. Stay, and assume responsibility, Praful. That is the right and honourable thing to do.
Meanwhile our deepest sympathies to the families of those whose lives were cruelly and abruptly cut short through no fault of theirs. May their souls rest in peace. And yes – let’s respect their memories by scrapping that bogus ‘enquiry’ which will reveal nothing but waste a lot of public money. Like all government enquiries, this one too will be another eyewash.
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The Mystery of Mallika Sherawat….

I mean…. it must baffle us all! Mallika Sherawat on the red carpet at Cannes probably hogged more media coverage than Ash and Deepika put together. How? Why? Who is Mallika?? Good question. She can hisssss away to glory and drape herself in nothing but live pythons on The Croisette – but we will still remain unimpressed. And Bollywood won’t bite! Nobody can explain the Sherawat phenomenon back in India. Nobody can understand how or why she gets invited to the best Hollywood parties ( Martin’s her best bud, so is Salma), or even where she gets those fancy party frocks from. Not that it matters all that much. But let’s face it, there are any number of extraordinarily attractive bimbettes floating around half naked or even topless, at Cannes and similar festivals. Agreed….Mallika is no bimbette. She is a smarty pants with a gift of the gab. As an actress she is no better and certainly no worse than say a Lara Dutta. Had she stayed back and hacked it in Bollywood, she would have remained a B-grader, starring in multiplex movies with Akshay Kumar. But what the hell – those movies make big bucks and everybody involved benefits big time. The girls who act in them (act??) look for lucrative endorsements, get paid to open stores in Ludhiana, dance for a fee at assorted events, even ask for lolly to attend parties. That’s fine. And perfectly legit. Those who have stuck it out are not complaining – they now own penthouses in Bandra and carry the priciest bags. Not bad for gals with limited talent but big ambitions. Our Mallika is different – has always been very hatke se. She decided to fly the coop and try her luck in Hollywood. God knows what exactly she does there, but going by her tweets and the pics she posts on an hourly basis, Mallika is having the best time with the most happening crowd on both sides of the Atlantic – in Beverley Hills and Cannes ( if one can overlook the Paris Hilton snub).She is looking hot and her dress sense has vastly improved since the time she’d appear semi naked in public, clad in hooker gear.
This year at Cannes, she certainly wore statement clothes – and if they were sponsored, we don’t know who sponsored them. Her pricey accessories were perfectly co-ordinated, and if there was a hiccup at all,her jaunty quotes made up for all the slights (Ash and Deepika refused to be in the same frame with her ). So… who scored? I’d say it’s advantage Mallika. Hissssssssss