'Bhansali surprised Mallika'

By Subhash K Jha

Besides Mani Rathnam's Guru, if one has to find a common link between Aishwarya Rai and Mallika Sherawat it would have to be Sanjay Leela Bhansali. During last season's Koffee With Karan, Sanjay appeared with Aishwarya.

This season he'll be seen with Mallika Sherawat. The totally unforeen pairing happened on when the enterprising Karan shot another episode of Koffee with Bhansali and Sherawat.

Says a member of the tightly-knit crew. "At the first the two were wary of each other, and rightly so. What could there be in common between them? Luckily, Karan's characteristic affability soon put them at ease.

Mallika was obviously awestuck …and nervous. Sanjay put her at ease by telling her he was a far cry from his sober serious image and that he loved having fun."

Once the camera was switched on the thressome had a ball. Repartees flew fast and furiously. "Sanjay surprised Mallika by telling her he always found her to be one of the most promising new discoveries, though she needed to work on her voice modulation. He also gently reminded her to get back to earth when she spoke about her superiority complex."

Apparently the vibes on the sets were ribtickling with the two super-filmmakers often laughing uproariously at Mallika's selfdeclarations.

Divulges the source, "At one point Mallika high-handedly declares that she would like the three Khans Shah Rukh, Aamir and Salman to serve her meals. And when Karan cockily asks her which hero's butt she likes best, Mallika changes the topic to female butts and declares she likes Bipasha butt best."

Butt, seriously.

When asked about this extremely unorthox tete-a-tete featuring the genius filmmaker and the femme fatale, Karan laughed, "I don't know who gives you all this information. But yes, we did shoot with my favourite filmmaker and and one of the sexiest actresees. It was great fun.

As I said earlier I don't only want to bring on unusual and exciting guests, I want to bring them on in unexpected combinations. I believe opposites make sparks fly. Watch out for the fireworks this season on Koffee With Karan."