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India’s top MB Men
Hrithik Roshan makes for the perfect Indian Mills & Boon hero, say Bollywood sirens.
Romance novella giant Mills & Boon recently conducted a poll in the UK, where they asked readers which celebrity they’d like to see as an MB hero. While the Britons chose music mogul Simon Cowell as their man, we set out to find which Indian celebrity would fit the bill. A panel of five ladies from tinsel town — Sameera Reddy, Sophie Choudry, Raima Sen, Manasi Scott and Mia Uyeda — told us what women in India want, and that is anything but a brooding hero.
“Of course, an MB man needs to be devastatingly handsome, but why would any woman want to be romanced by a tormented man?” said actor Sophie Choudry, who picks Hrithik Roshan for “that body”. Her choice is supported by all others on the panel, making the light-eyed actor a clear winner. Hrithik is followed by Salman on the popularity chart.
According to Choudry, “He’s not perfect, and he’s not ashamed to admit it.” The ‘perfect’ man is clearly out. “In MBs, all the heroes have always had this air of aloofness about them. They’re too perfect! A hero is a hero not because he is perfect, but because he can admit to his shortcomings. A hero needs to be real. Fantasy is no longer a turn on,” says 22-year-old film-maker Shilpi Gulati.
Interestingly, Bollywood’s big boys Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan and son Abhishek and John Abraham earned only one vote each. “SRK can sweep any girl off her feet,” says Reddy. “Abhishek is suave and sophisticated, yet fun,” says Scott.
Hrithik Roshan
He has that X appeal characteristic to Mills & Boon heroes - Mia Uyeda, VJ-actor
Salman Khan
Any girl will fall for this most handsome bachelor in town - Sameera Reddy, Actor
Arjun Rampal
Arjun is like the quintessential bad boy of Bollywood- Mia Uyeda, VJ-actor
Imran Khan
He’s the boy you always want to be living next door to - Sophie Choudry, Singer-actor
Akshay Kumar
He is fit, fine, and the kind of guy who knows how to take care of a woman, Manasi Scott, Singer-actor
Our panel
Manasi Scott, Raima Sen, Sameera Reddy, Mia Uyeda, Sophie Choudry
