Mallika's 'stellar' role in 'The Myth'

Mallika Sherawat's much talked about international debut with Jackie Chan starrer "The Myth" has the starlet cast actually in no more than a cameo.

Her much-vaunted "stellar" role in Stanley Tong's "The Myth" is just that - a myth. According to the audience at the Toronto Film Festival where the film was premiered, her role is no more than a glorified cameo.

"What was all the fuss about? And why do we go on about our prospects out West when Hollywood has no patience for us?" said an Indian actor present at the festival.

"Mallika repeatedly made goof-ups in the press conferences. Apparently, Jackie Chan was asked why he chose to have Mallika in his film. He turned around and said she had a great pair," the actor told IANS.

According to members of the Indian film fraternity at the festival, Mallika's presence was a complete non-event.

"Sure, she got noticed for the very obvious assets. She looked out of place at the festival," joked a sporting fellow-actor.

"Her female colleague Kim Hee Seon conducted herself with so much dignity. Mallika was spilling out all over the place, making absurd statements about how in India doing a Jackie Chan film was like doing a James Bond film.

"What did she mean? Was she belittling James Bond or Jackie Chan? And then, after all the gushing, her role in 'The Myth' was nothing more than a glorified cameo," he said.

While responses to Mallika at Toronto ranged from lukewarm to indifferent, audiences and critics were far more categorical in their dismissal of the film. "The Myth" has been declared a certifiable dud.

The plot has Chan in a double role as a Ming warrior in ancient times and an archaeologist in present times. Neither of the story works.

Says a prominent Indian director who participated in the festival: "After the screening of any film at the festival, the papers next day are filled with news and views. But there was hardly anything at all about 'The Myth'.

"There was a cold, indifferent silence to the film and to Mallika Sherawat. One feels sorry for the girl because she had pumped up her presence in it as some kind of a grand event. This is more like a damp squib."

Where does Mallika go from here? Back to the Bollywood grind?

She has a brief role in one segment of Ram Gopal Varma's "Darna Zaroori Hai" with Anil Kapoor and a part in Satish Kaushik's "Shaadi Se Pehle" with Suniel Shetty.

What a sad impasse in the career of a spunky and sensuous actress who virtually re-wrote the rules of female stardom in "Murder".

It's now up to Aishwarya Rai, who incidentally was the first choice for "The Myth", to break the growing belief that Indian actors have no place in the West.

As for Mallika, she should learn to keep her peace, especially when that's the only option left open to her.