Khwahish fulfills many a desire

He loves racing and swears by the speed and power of Michael Schumacher. However, unlike the Ferrari ace, model-turned-actor Himanshu Malik doesn�ft like to be in control. "I''m not a control freak at all. I just like to zoom. In life, I get my kick out of being honest. Honest, he sure is, especially when he declares quite unapologetically, "It''s a fact that models can''t act simply because modelling is an antithesis of acting."
Taking the honesty trip a little farther, the Afreen Afreen hunk supplies another one liner, "I didn''t need to work on my body because I know I have a good body�c I mean, people say I''ve appeal." Ahem.Before you can get in a word, he promptly assures, "The reason why I didn''t enroll in any acting school is because acting demands you to change a lot within, the whole focus of life has to change which is something a person has to do himself."
For the moment though the actor is totally focused on his latest release Khwahish and the positive reviews thereafter. "I''ve never been in a hurry and after Tum Bin I was waiting for an interesting and innovative solo hero subject like Khwahish to come my way. Since the film''s release, I''ve been inundated with offers. I have about 14 offers but I am taking my time deciding as first I want to take Khwahish out of my mind." About the furor surrounding the kissing scenes in the film, he says, "The film is much more than just 17 kisses but in retrospect I think media''s flogging about the whole kissing business actually benefited the film. Since we are a sex-starved nation so initially people did go to see the kisses but came out seeing a good film."
Voicing his own Khwahish, Himanshu, an ardent Bachchan fan says, "I''m here to stay. I want to be like Shah Rukh who can touch each chord in each heart in every cinema hall in the country." Bollywood, watch out!
The introduction, "She''s the first heroine from Haryana... the first jat to make it in Bollywood," is in your face. So is her persona. Tardy by over an hour-and-half for her appointment with city''s media contingent, Mallika Sherawat was least bothered about the delay. "I had to do my make up, you know," was her starry excuse. No wonder, she fits so well with Bollywood''s eternal Khwahish for the latest ''with it'' girl. In town to promote her film, Mallika justified her image of making headlines.
Chandigarh Times presents Mallika Unplugged. �¡ I changed my name from Reema to Mallika because there is a Reema in every corner and since Mallika means empress" I liked the name.
�¡ I''m thankful to God they edited my role in my debut film Jeena Sirf Merre Liye as no one saw the film except Tusshar Kapoor''s family, Kareena Kapoor''s family and my family.
�¡ If you don''t have a Deol, Bachchan or a Kapoor surname you can''t make it in Bollywood.
�¡ My family was dead against my joining the industry. They said, "Jaton ki chori filmon mein kaam nahi kar sakti." My father was very angry and even stopped talking to me. Now that he''s seen the film, he''s okay. My naani came all the way from Rohtak to see the film and loved it.
�¡ I don''t know why such a big deal is made about the kissing scenes in Khwahish. Raj Kapoor made Satyam Shivam Sundaram in that zamana, we have made the film in today''s zamana. As it is, these days the music videos are much more explicit.
�¡ It�fs high time we stopped mothering the Indian audience. Let''s leave the myths and stereotypes. Khwahish is a celebration of a mature and independent urban Indian women.
�¡ Our society is different for men and women. If a man kisses on screen, he�fs called a stud and macho but if a woman does the same then she''s branded as a chalu ladki.
�¡ The women in Haryana have loved the film. I''ve got an appreciation letter from Haryana Mahila Mandal. Even CM Chautala has congratulated me and told me that after Kalpana Chawla, I''ve done the state proud.
�¡ I know there is a lot of talk about me but then there is a lot of talk about Sonia Gandhi and Madhuri Dixit also.
harneet_singh@indiatimes.com