Mallika's eagerness to reach Oscar red carpet early didn't pay off. She reached the venue way before the media did!

Mallika Sherawat may be gloating about her red carpet appearance at the Oscars and meeting Hollywood's A-list folk.

But what happened to her before she preened and pirouetted outside the Kodak theatre where the Academy awards were held, left her embarrassed!

The sex siren reached the world famous red carpet when there was no one around! Even most of the reporters, TV crews and photographers who capture the stars had not reached.

The reason for Mallika's boo-boo was her eagerness to reach the venue ahead of time.

Says a source, "The invite read "3 pm onwards" but stars show up after 4 pm. In fact the television crews and photographers start putting up their paraphernalia only after 3 pm knowing fully well that the stars start descending around 4.30 pm."

The Hisss actress, however, arrived at 2.50 pm! Seeing that there were not too many people around, only the early bird reporters and photographers could capture her.

The source explains, "Normally for most stars it takes at least an hour and a half to walk the full carpet, pose for the photographers, give television bytes and be interviewed till they reach the Kodak theatre. But Mallika took 30 minutes to complete the walk as there was hardly anyone around."

Mallika remained unavailable for comment but her brother Vikram Singh maintains, "Mallika has got coverage worldwide.

She was there on the red carpet and at the after-party. She has been so busy with the Oscars that she has not had a chance to tell us what happened. She is expected back in Mumbai next week."

While Mallika's manager maintains, "I am not aware of her reaching before time."

The source explains, "This is the reason why her snapshots did not get splashed immediately after the event as only a few had clicked her. It was only later that her pictures did the rounds."

Run-in avoided

Sources state that Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai who were also on the red carpet at the Oscar did not want a run-in with Mallika Sherawat. They had told their agents to make sure they weren't around at the same time as Madame M. The Bachchans arrived on the scene only after 4.30 pm " by that time the over zealous siren had already finished the walk.