She's the classic gangster's moll. She has ambitions of stardom, but practically no star quality. Her attempts at acting fail unerringly. And you wouldn't call her beautiful — unless you got a call from Abu Salem. Meet Monica Bedi, the Bollywood starlet who was staying in the gangster's hotel room in Sharjah, when he was picked by the UAE authorities.

The actress, who's used to playing second fiddle to Hindi film heroines, was accommodated by a number of Mumbai producers in their films, at Salem's ‘request'. But after a string of forgettable movies like Kala Samrajya and Loh Purush, she made it to Rajiv Rai's Pyar, Ishq Aur Mohabbat. This year she also landed a role in David Dhawan's Jodi No.1 opposite Sanjay Dutt. The film, which had Govinda and Twinkle Khanna as the lead pair, bombed. Sources say, it was because of Salem that she landed these roles.

The Mumbai Police say, she was put on the watchlist after Salem's men kidnapped Milton Plastics managing director Chiranjeev Waghani last year.

She was also linked to producer Mukesh Duggal who was shot dead in June 1997 by Chhota Shakeel's men. Duggal was said to have been instrumental in Monica grabbing a few small roles. After Duggal's death, she is said to have latched on to Salem.

Like hundreds of star-struck Bollywood aspirants, Monica too came to Mumbai from Delhi in 1995. She landed her first role in Suraksha. Other B-graders followed: Khilona, Jeeyo Shaan Se, Ek Phool Teen Kante, Sar Utha Ke Jiyo and so on.

In Bollywood where newcomers find it difficult to get a break many struggling actors and actresses latch on to the underworld or businessmen. All of them have their names on the billboard of shattered dreams.

Clearly, Monica is another addition to that list.