Messaging Masala

This mms clip is steamy enough to have tongues wagging: the soon-to-be-married Fardeen Khan is seen sharing a shower with Bengali babe Koena Mitra. No, the clip is not digitally morphed, and strangely enough, the stars are not on a self-righteous denial spree. The mms is part of a unique publicity stunt for the film Ek Khiladi, Ek Haseena, with the "censored" clip meant to draw the critical mass of people who are using mms-enabled phones, says producer Pritish Nandy. "While the promos will hit the television screens soon, for now it is available only to cell-phone users and Net surfers. We believe the wireless market has huge potential," he adds. Hope it doesn't turn out to be a case of all smoke and no fire.

Role Model

Priya Sachdev's biggest catch so far-not discounting the Lux ad and Page 3 pop-ups-has been Vikram Chatwal, her UK-based hotelier fiancee. Now, the model is set for a Bollywood debut in the Yash Raj film Neal 'n' Niki, starring Uday Chopra and Tanishaa Mukherjee. "I wanted a beautiful Indian girl who could carry off a sari as well as a miniskirt," says director Arjun Sablok. More important, will she carry the audience with her?

Charlie's Devils

It was a take-off waiting to happen. Bollywood's "wicked" version of Charlie's Angels is Deepak Shivdasani's forthcoming Mr Black & Mr White featuring Sandhya Mridul (centre) Tania Zaetta (right) and new-find Thai beauty queen Kamala Ning. "We didn't face a language problem as Kamala speaks Thai in the film, Tania talks in English and Sandhya is the interpreter," says Shivdasani. Isn't body language what interests people anyway?

Show Stopper

Barely six films old and Mallika Sherawat is already inspiring reel life. Delhi-based debutante actress Priyanka Bassi, 21, is set to play Sherawat in UTV's forthcoming English TV show, Bombay Talking. Bassi, who plays Sheena Malik, an item-number girl, says the only similarity is that both the characters are from small towns. "The show is about her journey from being an item-number girl to being No. 1 in the film industry," says Bassi who is trained in Kathak and theatre. Sherawat may be nowhere near the top, but imitation is surely the next best thing.

-Compiled by Kimi Dangor

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