Desirable divas

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Mallika Sherawat and Padma Lakshmi have been voted in a global list of 99 desirable women. Do other celebs agree?

doweshowbellyad=0; Aishwarya (TOI Photo) More picsWe knew it, but a global online magazine seals it. Indian headturners Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Mallika Sherawat and Padma Lakshmi are more than flashbulb celebs — they have been voted as the world’s most desirable women, outshining hotties Maria Sharapova and Lindsay Lohan in the rankings.
Based on online votes cast by five million readers, a list of 99 most desirable women of the year 2008 has been drawn up.
Bachchan bahu and the world’s most beautiful woman Aishwarya is at number 27 (and labelled the ‘most beautiful Bollywood heroine’), screen sizzler Mallika at number 67 has been described as the ‘most sultry Indian actress’, while Padma at 66 is rated as the ‘TV hostess with the mostest’.
You’d think, India’s hip and happening lot would actually be crowing about the reigning beauties. But not everyone feels the three divas deserve to be called ‘most desirable’ at a global level.

The global ratings of shortlisting the women were based on their intelligence, humour, charisma and ambition. What really makes a woman desirable, to men? We went asking for some answers and came out with surprises.
Actor Aman Varma doesn’t feel Aishwarya can fit in the “category of desirable women. Sure, Mallika deserves to be in the list and rightly so.” Anchor-actor Pooja Bedi believes, Ash’s close rival Sushmita Sen who has a “strong personality, is gorgeous, sexy and intelligent, is my definition of a desirable woman.”

Small screen’s funny man VJ Cyrus Sahukar thinks “classic Indian beauties like Sonam Kapoor define a really desirable woman.”
Fashion guru Raghavendra Rathore’s list of most desirable is fairly long. For him, women like “Preity Zinta who has an amazing quality of leadership, Bipasha Basu who epitomises self-confidence, Kareena Kapoor and Malaika Arora Khan with their mass appeal and Katrina Kaif who has classic good looks, are easily the best.”
And if you thought only woman from the glam fraternity should have been part of the list, Mayawati, Sania Mirza and Ashwini Nachappa also define beauty and sex appeal for some. Ad wiz Prahlad Kakar dismisses political superwomen “Uma Bharti and Mayawati as attractive oldies”, but chooses to nominate “Priyanka Chopra and Kareena Kapoor as absolute musts in any list of this sort.” Kakar feels, “Mayawati’s passion is the reason why she should be in this list. Even Sania Mirza and Ashwini Nachappa could be a part of such a list.”
While beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, it’s a heady feeling, when our women are voted the world’s most desired.

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