Mallika gets up, close, personal with Ontario Premier

Jun 24, 2011 Radhika Bhirani

Toronto, June 24 (IANS) This one never misses a golden chance. After getting clicked with US President Barack Obama, Indian actress Mallika Sherawat was seen in conversation with Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty at the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) extravaganza here Thursday.

The actress, who has made a name for herself in the international press thanks to her appearance with Jackie Chan at the Cannes International Film Festival for Chinese film "The Myth", is here for the premiere of her forthcoming movie "Double Dhamaal" and to promote her international project "Politics of Love".

"This is my first time at the IIFA awards. I just want to enjoy and have a great time," said Mallika, who will also groove to Bollywood tracks at the awards night Saturday.

Unusually dressed in a sari, with a simple blouse, Mallika was among a host of Bollywood celebrities like Anil Kapoor, Dia Mirza, Bipasha Basu, Boman Irani, Riteish Deshmukh, Anupam Kher, Subhash Ghai, Satish Kaushik and Sonu Niigaam, who were invited on stage for the inaugural press conference for the three-day IIFA Weekend and Awards.

While all the actors moved down the stage, Mallika chose to stay on and engaged the Premier in some animated conversation, inviting several clicks from the paparazzi in the bargain.

Surprisingly, this was the same Mallika, who was hiding away from the media, and refused to talk to mediapersons at a midnight market here Wednesday night.

A source told IANS: "Mallika was throwing a lot of tantrums. She refused to speak to the media, and took trolleys full of clothes to try at The Bay (a store) so that she could avoid the media."

And apparently, she was "jetlagged" after a flight from Los Angeles to Toronto!