Mal-Lie-Ka Sherawat

When I read this story - The Making of a Starling - almost a year back, I was relieved. At last, the press would get over Mallika Sherawat's so called "fight against orthodoxy". All her tedious lies about being repressed by a close-minded father, being from a small town in Haryana, studying in a Hindi medium school, fighting with her father to come to Bombay, and barely making ends meet, etc, would be exposed I finally thought.

But this Sunday, I was shocked to see her spouting all the same lies in the Sunday Times of India!

Why?

The reason is simple. If you are a Delhi girl from a rich family, educated in the reputed DPS Mathura Rd, who got into a disastrous marriage after being smitten early, got divorced shortly afterwards, and got your doting Poppa to bankroll your attempts at becoming a film actress, you are really no different from the riffraff that is so common in Andheri-West.

But if you falsely project yourself as this girl from small town Haryana, brought up in an orthodox house, who fought with her father, and struggled hard to make ends meet in bombay....someone who worked hard to get rid of a 'Haryanvi' accent, and someone who showed the courage (hahh!!) to rebel, and all, suddenly you become a heroine in the true sense. The public roots for you, even if you have zilch talent.

I wonder if Reema Lamba, a.k.a Mallika, has been taking advice from Billy Flynn from Chicago.