For six months now, Mallika Sherawat has been going out in public incognito — clad in a burkha. Why? The actress craves anonymity. So the nest time you see a lady in a burkha next to you on a plane, don't be shocked if it turns out to be La Sherawat in her sports shoes!
Garbo aspirations
Say sources, who recently travelled with Mallika for NDTV's Jai Jawan shoot, to Leh, in Jammu & Kashmir, "Mallika is tired of travelling with bodyguards all the time, though she has two. She is constantly under public scrutiny with people staring and ogling at her at any place or time.
What few people realise is that under all the oomph, glamour and sultry sex appeal, Mallika is just a normal girl who fiercely guards her privacy and resents this intrusion into her personal space. So, more than seven months ago, she decided to wear a burkha while travelling, so that nobody could recognise her on her sojourns."
The source recounts an amusing anecdote. "Mallika dresses casually under the burkha, mostly wearing a T-shirt and jeans with sports shoes. A group of men saw the sports shoes peeking out of the burkha and kept staring at her. Finally, Mallika turned around, looked at them and mischievously raised her hand and said "adaab". The men didn't know what to do!"
Panic attack
Recently, when she went on the Jai Jawan shoot, Mallika lost her burkha and was panic-stricken. She had travelled on Jet Airways, and as she arrived in Leh and took off her burkha, she forgot it in the plane.
Says a source from the airlines, "After she landed, the driver of her car informed her that she had forgotten to take her burkha with her. Mallika had a panic attack and said she couldn't do without it.
So the driver told her his sister was a stewardess with the airline and had kept the burkha at the airline's office. After Mallika finished with her Jai Jawan shoot, she collected her burkha from the airport. She was so happy!"
At Leh, Sherawat travelled frm Magnetic Mountain to Nimu, which is the highest training ground for army officers. Says a source, "Mallika was so impressed by the jawans that she told them, 'Aap hi asli heroes ho!' They gave her a green army jacket with Mallika written on it, which she wore at all the functions."
Sherawat herself was unavailable for comment. |