Spotlight on Sherawat

Sandeep Chowta denies his hit song is about Mallika Sherawat. Do you believe it?

Mallika I hate you, I hate you. I want to touch you. The metallic computer-altered voice kept ringing on my car's FM station. It was a strangely addictive techno-tune, which kept going through my mind long afterwards. This non-film song, released as a single by composer-singer Sandeep Chowta (of Mast, Khallas and Kambakht Ishq fame) was reigning on FM charts across the country a few weeks back.

Now look at what Chowta has to say about the hit song. "My song has nothing to do with Mallika Sherawat. I just wanted an Indian name. I could have even named my album Chandramukhi I Hate You! But Mallika sounded more Indian. The song is all about the women we love but can't touch. They are inaccessible and remain in our dreams!"

Now if that is not hogwash, what else is? Yes, I fully endorse and identify with Chowta's thought-process when he says that the song is about a femme fatale - a dream object who remains frustratingly out of reach, invoking a strange love-hate feeling.

A touch of reality

But I simply don't believe that Chowta is not cashing in on the sex- appeal of the Mallika of flesh and blood - Mallika Sherawat - in this song because it is her image which gives that song a touch of reality, anchors the thought to real life. Which brings us to our story. This song (despite Chowta's claim to the contrary) represents yet another confirmation of the rapid rise of Sherawat the Bollywood star.

Have you seen anyone like Sherawat before? At least I haven't. Her bold kissing scenes; her non-kissing scenes, which are steamy as hell and her skin-hugging and revealing dresses in the handful of films that she has appeared in, don't really fully explain the crazy fan-fascination and her rapid elevation to international iconic status.

Shock and awe

There are plenty of other stars ( Bipasha Basu, Neha Dhupia, Udita Goswami, Amrita Arora) and star wannabes including Meghna Naidu, Deepal Shah and Rakhi Sawant to name a few who have been there, done that. But none of them has ever managed to create such wild, collective passion. Not close.

Don't know if Sherawat and American President George Bush met in a secret conclave and discussed, because their game plans seem to share common ground. You know what we mean. Shock and awe. That has been the Sherawat motto. Faking a story about herself being a girl from an ultra-conservative family, which banned even lipstick; picking spats with most of her co-stars; cheesing off Shah Rukh Khan by refusing to fly in his special jet for an awards gala; sitting in the 60-plus Dharmendra's lap and openly professing being

fascinated by older men; appearing in eye-popping attire and stealing Aishwarya Rai's thunder at Cannes; doing a revealing photo-session clad in just a white sheet; the famous photo op with Jackie Chan that saw Sherawat's pictures plastered across tabloids worldwide - aren't these just the right moves to make herself the most controversial and yet one of the most sought after names in showbiz? No wonder Chowta now wants to use that name to sell his song. Because with that name also comes an image to titillate the public senses.

Biggest bombshell

After watching the Bachchan father-son duo openly ogling her in one of the Coffee with Karan episodes, one can safely say that even without the backing of a camp or a godfather, Sherawat has gone on to become the biggest bombshell in Bollywood.

She might not have acting prowess, awards or critical acclaim but who needs that when one has pure sensationalism and raw animal appeal? Rising from obscurity to stardom in no time and willing to go to any lengths to get her share of fame, Sherawat is an intriguing product of modern times - a sensuous liberated go-getter invoking admiration and revulsion at the same time. Her skimpily clad image is sure to invoke enough ambiguous feelings. Chowta's Mallika I Hate You! I Hate You! I Want To Touch you! lyrics are as cryptic as Sherawat's climb to fame.