She might not entirely fit into her newly acquired role of a 'pind di kudi' (village girl) after being disgraced as the companion of one of India's most notorious mobsters Abu Salem and spending over five years in prison.

But comely Monica Bedi is coming to terms with a new life just hours after her release from a Hyderabad prison and landing straight into this bustling Punjab village.

Many people - men, women and scores of children - kept awake till late Wednesday night to get a glimpse of their celebrity visitor and be part of that moment of fame when Monica returned to the village - coming a full cycle after having left this place 31 years ago.

Her entry into this non-resident Indians (NRI) dominated village, a little after 11 p.m., saw a frenzied media and villagers trying to get close to her even as a protective family and village bouncers - many of them drunk - formed a ring around her.

"I don't understand the hype around her arrival. For us she is the same Meenu (Monica's nickname) and not a celebrity," her aunt Kanta Bedi told as she eagerly awaited Monica's return to her roots in her house, which was specially illuminated and decorated for the event.

Scores of villagers - including a delegation of blind and physically challenged men and women - waited outside for over four hours to welcome her. They even put up a welcome banner for her. As Monica finally emerged in her pink kurta and black trousers - giving every inch the impression of a Bollywood star - marigold petals were showered on her.

"I and others have come to see how she looks. She is a star," village resident Balbir Kaur said.

The same village and its residents, including her own relatives, had disowned her five years ago when she was caught with Abu Salem. Her uncle, Purshottam Bedi, left the village for Norway, where her father runs a garments business, two years ago but returned recently.

Monica, the Bollywood starlet of late 1990s and later Abu Salem's companion, was born in this village Jan 18, 1975. Her father Prem Bedi, a registered medical practitioner, moved to Norway in 1976 when she was still a toddler.

This village, 10 km from Hoshiarpur town on the highway to Chandigarh, is likely to remain in the limelight as Monica lives here, at least for the next few days, on directions of the Supreme Court, which granted her bail recently in a passport fraud case.

"I am happy and comfortable to be back with my family. They have been my strength during tough days. I am quite safe here and have no threat from the underworld," she told reporters on her arrival here, perhaps, for the first time making a reference to her past connections with the underworld don.

"I have left my past behind. I am looking at my future and a few film offers. My family's consent is there for a career in acting. I will live in India only and not go anywhere," she added.

Monica had done nearly half a dozen films between 1996 and 2000, including "Jodi No.1" with Sanjay Dutt and Govinda and directed by David Dhawan, before getting closely linked with Abu Salem as his beau.

She later left the country with him before they were finally caught by police in Lisbon, the Portuguese capital, in 2002 and later extradited to India. She spent five years in prison, including three in Indian jails.