by Subhash K Jha

It's the casting-crouch-hidden-dragon syndrome. The self-proclaimed sex bomb and the universally acclaimed purveyor of versatility are finally coming together.

Mallika and Ramu is a combination that was waiting to happen. In fact right after Murder Mallika had expressed a burning desire to work with Bollywood's most enterprising filmmaker.

"Ram Gopal Varma is one filmmaker I'd give anything to work with," Mallika had sighed to me after Murder.

It looks like her dream took a while to materialise. But Mallika is finally getting to work with Ramu. Earlier he had offered her an item song in his forthcoming film James. Mallika had declined the offer saying she would do an item song for Varma... "But only if it has a role attached to it."

"Now I've attached a role to her but detached the item song," chuckles Ramu. "She's doing an episode of Darna Zaroori Hai, the sequel to my 3-tirred horror film Darna Manaa Hai. Mallika will star in one of the three stories which will be helmed by G.G.Philips who directed my forthcoming film My Wife's Murder."

In fact Philips has signed his Wife's Murder hero Anil Kapoor to co-star with Mallika in Darna Zaroori Hai. Anil has been a Mallika admirer ever since Murder. "You've to hand it to the girl. She has guts," Anil had blurted out to me.

One of the episodes in the new fear –fest from Ram Gopal Varma features Amitabh Bachchan. That episode of Darna Zaroori Hai is directed by me. But the Mallika episode will be directed by Jijy Philip.

Commenting on Mallika, Ramu says, "I first saw her in the promos of Murder, and I loved her attitude. In fact I became her fan from her TV interviews. I wanted to meet her, though there was no project for her at that time. Now I immediately thought of her in the role in Darna Zaroori Hai. It required someone with grit and gumption. Mallika fitted the bill. It's only a fifteen-minute film. I'll definitely cast her in a bigger role soon.

"She's got a really strong presence. Very few actresses have her chutzpah. In her public statements she comes across as frank outspoken brutally honest. I like her upfront-unabashed attitude, and not just about her sexuality. I like unapologetic people. And Mallika is someone who says it like it is."