Mallika Sherawat signs Unveiled

This is Mallika's second International film to be directed by Hollywood director Bill Bannerman, writes Diganta Guha.

After the miss-and-blink appearance in

HT Image

The Myth

with Jackie Chan, Mallika Sherawat has signed her second international film,

Unveiled

, to be directed by Hollywood director Clint Eastwood’s long-time assistant Bill Bannerman.

The latter worked with Eastwood in films such as

The Bridges of Madison County, Unforgiven

and

Absolute Power

. He has also been an assistant director in films such as

The Hulk

and

The Crush

.

Mallika, who went for a screen test in Los Angeles in February and was finalised for the role recently, plays a Muslim woman with two husbands and a lover in the film. The casting agent had visited India and a lot of other actors were reportedly in contention for the role.

“However, he recalled seeing Mallika at the Cannes Film Festival (the actor was there to promote

The Myth

) a couple of years ago and remembered seeing her picture in Time magazine. Then he called her for the screen test,” says Mallika’s public relations manager. Bannerman had talks with Angelina Jolie and Hillary Swank for the role, but the Asian angle had him close in on someone from this part of the world.

Unveiled

is a thriller revolving around infidelity.

“It’s part thriller, part psychological drama, part film noir... It was so fast-paced and so well written that I couldn’t put it down for a second. It’s a story from the point of view of a woman who has relationships with three men from different continents and who goes from a traditional Muslim environment to a liberal Western one…,” says Mallika in a press statement.

“I was impressed by Mallika’s acting in Murder and knew she would do justice to the role,” says Bannerman in a media statement. About the character he says, “Behind the burkha, lies a sexy, manipulative victim.”