When she was just a struggling starlet, Bollywood embarrassed her by stripping her and pushing her beneath a waterfall for Raj Kapoor’s Ram Teri Ganga Maili in 1985. Sixteen years after she gave up films, to marry a Buddhist monk and reportedly run a Tibetan herbal centre in Mumbai, Bollywood will still not let Mandakini be.

The latest is that the film industry is raking up her years as underworld don Dawood Ibrahim’s moll for Milan Luthria’s film Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai Part 2. And the choice from among Bollywood’s lovelies to play Mandakini to Akshay Kumar’s Dawood is likely to be from among Sonakshi Sinha, Deepika Padukone, Katrina Kaif and Sonam Kapoor.

Katrina and Akshay have delivered a number of hits and their pairing is popular with fans. Deepika and Akshay’s Chandni Chowk To China was a damp squib. Likewise Sonam and Akshay’s Thank You (though the duo was not cast opposite each other) didn’t ring the Box Office tills. Sonakshi will be seen with Akki in Joker and Rowdy Rathore and until then, there’s no take on their on-screen chemistry. So, Katrina is the safest bet. But Kat, who has proved her versatility by essaying different roles, was approached for the role and shied away from playing Dawood’s girlfriend in Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai Part 2. That leaves Sonakshi as the top contender to play this challenging character.

Bollywood, which knows what Mandakini was all about, is waiting to see who will play the former sex bomb who courted controversy by getting linked with the fugitive underworld don and was spotted with him in the United Arab Emirates. Bollywood, which has also been a victim of the extortion racket run by gangland, draws the line when it comes to its stars flaunting their relationships with criminal types… and Mandakini’s career suffered in the film industry as a result.

Interestingly, out-of-the-box roles have always helped actresses reach new heights. Remember Kareena Kapoor in Chameli and, more lately, Vidya Balan in The Dirty Picture. Sonakshi will surely keep that in mind. And watching whoever essays the role will be the asli Mandakini, for sure, and also Mr. Dawood Ibrahim himself, wherever he is in hiding.