Aishwarya Rai

What’s with Mallika Sherawat impressing foreign directors? At first, it was Jackie Chan in Myth, and now it is Bill Bannerman, Hollywood stalwart Clint Eastwood’s right-hand man. After screening faces across continents for his film Unveiled, the director has given the nod to Mallika Sherawat.

Bannerman says, “Behind the burkha, there lies a manipulative victim, whose life is in danger. But she is very dangerous too.” The film revolves around the life of a Muslim woman who has two husbands and a lover. It will be a blend of film noir, thriller and dark drama.

Bill has been working on the casting for a long time now and considered many actresses for the role, before zeroing in on Mallika, that is.

Sources reveal, “Hillary Swank and Penelope Cruz had shown interest, but a South Asian or Middle Eastern actress was needed.” Mallika managed to beat Aishwarya and Shilpa Shetty to it, who were also shortlisted.