Sunday, June 8, 2003		In the spotlight

Two hot to handle

THEY have set the temperatures soaring with their onscreen frolics. Mallika Sherawat, who hails from a conservative Jat family, and Himanshu Malik, who is a qualified engineer, have nothing in common but the controversial '17 smooches' they shared while shooting for Govind Menon's Khwahish.

Malik and Mallika, who are at ease with their new sex symbol status, assert that they enjoyed each of the 17 smooches and also the ones that happened during the rehearsals and retakes.

For Himanshu, who had earlier appeared in Ram Gopal Varma's Mast and Anubhav Sinha's Tum Bin, Khwahish is the 'big break' that he was looking for. And for Mallika, who had fought with her family and elders back home in Haryana to get into filmdom, the role in Khwahish is the 'ideal launchpad.'

Both the actors feel that the media has been harping unnecessarily on the skin show in the film. They are quick to point out that there is much more to the film. Says Himanshu, 'We, being a sex-starved nation, the media has picked up only the skin bit. The film has dealt with the natural progression between a husband and a wife. Be it holding Mallika's hand, caressing her cheek or kissing. It deals with how they meet, how they patao each other, the marriage, the intimacy, the trouble and the tragedy.'

Mallika concurs, 'Sex is just one part of the character that I am playing. In Khwahish I am a middle class Maharashtrian girl, who is a classical singer.'

Himanshu says that the movie doesn't 'show anything unnatural. The interesting thing about my character is that he is human and not heroic. While Hindi films don't ever show heroes getting horny, we have done it in Khwahish.'

His friends, says the actor, told him after the first trial of the film, 'Hey, you are just as you are in actual life.' 'I take it as a compliment. I feel I have succeeded,' says Himanshu.

Asked whether she enjoyed the kissing scenes, Mallika says, 'For God's sake, I am a young girl. Do I look like a nun to you? If the hero can enjoy the kiss, why can't me? And to top it all, Himanshu is very good looking.'

To this, Himanshu says, 'In fact, there was strong mutual admiration between us. We just got into the act with no embarrassment at all.'

Mallika calls this 'the cleansing period' in Bollywood. She says, 'I think we need to reinvent ourselves. This is a period of great change where we are all doing meaningful cinema. Look at the kind of films we have had - Dil Chahta Hai, Chandni Bar and Astitva. I am very proud to be part of this changing culture.'

Both the actors are full of praise for their director Govind Menon. Says Himanshu, 'Full marks go to Govind and the unit who made this whole issue of kissing fun. The whole set would be buzzing, winking and smiling. We were offered mouth-freshners throughout the day. At the same time it was quite mechanical, in the sense, that we would be told this is a close-up shot and then told, ' Now kiss!'

For Mallika and Himanshu, Khwahish has opened a floodgate of offers. While Mallika will be doing another film with Govind Menon, which is a female-oriented subject, she has also signed up an international project, which is to be directed by a French director.

Himanshu, meanwhile, is doing J.P.Dutta's LoC. He says that, 'Two big banners have approached me but I guess it's too early to speak about them.' LMN