Is Shilpa Shetty good only for item numbers? She may be a quite the rage in song and dance routines, but she is desperate to evolve into an actress who can hold her own in mature roles. She has, in fact, bagged as many as eight meaty assignments in recent weeks.

But try asking her about the Shool item number that catapulted her to the top bracket, and she sees red. "I received so much flak for that song that I almost cried though everyone -children, youngsters and girls - loved it," she snaps back on being asked why she has developed an aversion to item songs.

A top production banner recently approached her for a guest song sequence in their film for which she was also being paid a hefty amount. But the actress refused pointblank. When will she learn that if one song could bring her back into circulation after a two-year lull, it would be foolhardiness to refuse another song which could get her more good films?