B-Town make-up artist Mallika Bhatt was back at work yesterday over a week after being attacked and robbed at her Bandra home.
B-Town make-up artist Mallika Bhatt was back at work yesterday over a week after being attacked and robbed at her Bandra home.
Stars like Priyanka Chopra, Kareena Kapoor, Kajol, Amrita Arora Ladhak and Malaika Arora Khan are among her clients. She was also one of the bridesmaids at Amrita's wedding.
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Mallika was accosted by her former driver and his accomplice on May 9. Speaking from the sets of Aladdin where she is now doing the make-up of newbie Jacqueline Fernandes, she says, "It was a life-and-death situation but I was destined to live. I am grateful to God; it is a new birth for me."
Shocked!
The make-up artist says she was so shocked by what happened that initially, she didn't know how to react. "It was almost around 1 am and I had just returned from Priyanka's photo shoot. I had barely opened the door that these two guys sprung up from behind me. One of them forked his fingers into my mouth and kept poking me while the other repeatedly gave me electric shocks as he was carrying a taser. They pushed me inside my home and locked the door."
She claims that for over two hours, she remained gagged and was continuously being given shocks. "I am a single girl living alone in the city; my ex-driver was aware of it. He used to work with me in 2002 for about eight months. I fired him after he stole Rs 50,000 from my bag. He never owned up, so instead of creating a scene, I told him to stop working for me. I didn't even file a police complaint."
Her attackers walked off with cash and jewellery amounting to Rs 2 lakh. "For a while, I didn't know what to do. I could still feel those electric shocks. Then I called my parents in Delhi, Amrita and the Amrohi family, my other close friends."
Amrita and her hubby Shakeel Ladhak rushed to her rescue. "Initially, I was in shock and wary of lodging a police complaint, but my folks told me to. The cops traced the culprits within hours. I want to tell single women living alone in Mumbai not to be afraid, seek police help when needed."
She has been flooded withe SMSes and calls from several stars. "The cops have managed to recover whatever was stolen. God has been very kind."
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