By Subhash K Jha

If Ranvir Shorey is going around with stars in his eyes, it's with reason.

He has just shared screen space with the ultimate diva Zeenat Aman.

Zeenat, never known to make special appearances in all her career as a reining queen in the 1970s (except in Nasir Husain's Hum Kissise Kam Nahin where she performed a Qawwalli) reluctantly agreed to come into the plot at the fag-end.

Zeenat plays the match -maker who irons out the gruff spots between the couple on the warpath.

"That's right. Zeenat comes right at the end of the film. I had to pinch myself when I saw her. Come on, she's the ultimate diva! My absolutely favourite crush. I used to dream about being in the same frame with her, " gushes Ranvir Shorey.

Zeenat plays a common friend of Ranvir and Mallika's families who comes into the picture only to bail the couple out. Apparently Mallika who has always hero-worshipped Zeenat couldn't contain her excitement.

"When Zeenat with her inherent grace came on the sets everyone else, including Mallika just stopped being important, " says a source.

Ranvir almost passed out working with the real Zeenat Aman after working with the poor man's Zeenie (Mallika) for the rest of the film

"After being slapped around by Mallika I suddenly had Zeenat Aman pinching and patting my cheeks. It was...surreal.A dream come true. All my colleagues look at me with envious eyes now."

As for working with the imposter Zeenat Ranvir says, "Mallika and I had a lot of differences. But we also managed to find a comfort level. The problem is, she had to slap me repeatedly and she just didn't know how to do it.

Either she'd slap and start acting so guilty I had to pacify her, or the slaps weren't convincing enough. I had to sit her down and explain the art of slapping to her. I must be the only guy in the world prodding a girl to hit him."

Incidentally the film's theme bears an uncanny resemblance to a 2001 Korean romantic comedy My Sassy Girl where a man Kim Ho Sik accidently meets a drunken bully of girl who changes his life. Like the Korean film Ugly Aur Pagli is told from the male protagonist's viewpoint. Ranvir's voicever takes us through the stormy romance.

"To the extent that the girl is a bully and the man takes her bullying meekly, " admits Ranvir. "But beyond that I see no similarities between the two films."