There were legal notices and counter notices sent by Veena and FHM to each other. It seemed like a never-ending puzzle till recently, when prominent fashion designer Umair Zafar decided to spill the beans.
Speaking to The Times of India, Umair states, "A few days before the FHM cover was out, photographer Vishal Saxena told me to be prepared for a big dhamaka."
Umair reveals to the paper that "Veena Malik did the shoot topless with her hands covering the upper part of her body. She was wearing a bikini panty below, which was later on morphed and removed electronically by photographer Vishal Saxena. All this was pre-decided and agreed upon by all concerned."
He adds, "In order to save face and avoid the repercussions that it could have - both in Pakistan and in India and yet avail of all the publicity Veena Malik and FHM magazine had pre-decided that Veena Malik would send a defamation notice to the magazine and the magazine in turn would then send her a counter-notice. Yeah sab mili bhagat hein."
"The entire episode had been meticulously planned by Veena Malik, photographer Vishal Saxena and FHM magazine representatives. Even the defamation notice was prepared in advance, " Umair further revealed.
Umair, who has done many shoots with Vishal Saxena and styled clothes for Sayali Bhagat, Nisha Kothari and others, points out that Vishal specializes in nude shoots and has done several such shoots with Sherlyn Chopra, Priya Soni and more.
Bollywood publicist Dale Bhagwagar, because of whom Veena Malik received an offer for India's most popular reality show Bigg Boss, isn't surprised at Umair's revelation.
When asked about the fashion designer's expose on Veena, Dale says, "I am reminded of a song in an old Mithun Chakraborty film called Mujrim. It went, ‘Mujrim na kehna mujhe logon, mujrim toh saara zamaana hai. Jo pakda gaya, who chor hai, jo bach gaya, who sayana hai.' And Veena Malik seems to be caught."
Dale and Veena a long way! Before Bigg Boss happened to her, the Pakistani actress had falsely alleged that Dale's PR client and Bollywood actress Neetu Chandra was involved with Pakastani cricketer Mohammad Asif in the international match fixing scandal.
Safeguarding his client, the PR expert had vehemently denied Veena's claims in national media through a press meet, ensuring
that the denial became bigger news than Veena's frivolous claims. So huge was the uproar that both Neetu Chandra and Veena Malik were offered Bigg Boss. While Neetu did not participate, Veena gladly accepted the offer. Incidentally, she attained more fame by romancing actor Ashmit Patel on the show; another of Dale's PR clients, who he handled for a specific period of three months during Bigg Boss.
After returning from the show, Veena even met up with the public relations specialist for her branding in Indian media, but they never worked together. Now it is also rumoured that Dale has a hand in bringing out the truth through Umair.
Though Dale admits that he did chat with photographer Vishal Saxena as well as FHM editor Kabeer Sharma last week, the PR says, "I do not know Umair Zafar personally. Veena and I were in touch long ago after Bigg Boss Season 4. But we moved on and I have rarely spoken to her after that."
Meanwhile, a birdie tells us that Veena Malik's visa for her stay in India is about to expire on December 24 and she has not received an extension, meaning, she might be forced to return to her home country Pakistan amidst the controversy and widespread protests about it in her country.
