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Star-crossed actress

MUMBAI SEPT. 21. Attempting to make it big in Bollywood through her contacts with the underworld don, Abu Salem, starlet Monica Bedi finds herself trapped in the international police dragnet.

After dabbling in modelling in New Delhi, Monica made her break in Hindi filmdom, acting in `B-grade' films. While there can be a debate over the continued involvement of other film stars with the dons, Monica is one of the very few who has got herself entangled with the legal authorities.

Not making much impact after making appearances in B grade movies such as Kala Samrajya and Sar utha ke jio in the mid-90s, Monica moved closer to Salem, who, as a Dawood lieutenant by then, had developed much fascination with Bollywood, for extortion money and bagging overseas rights of big movies.

Salem recommended her name for big banner films opposite stars like Sanjay Dutt in Jodi No. One and Rajiv Rai-directed Pyar, Ishq aur Mohabbat.

When frequent phone calls to Salem put her under the surveillance of the Mumbai police, she fled abroad.

The starlet, who began her career with Mukesh Duggal's film, Suraksha in 1995, later reportedly converted to Islam, changed her name to Fauzia Begum and became Abu Salem's life-time companian. — PTI

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