Madhur Bhandarkar is known for making women-oriented films and his next captures the inside world of the life of a 'Calendar Girl'. Vijay Mallya was the man who pioneered the idea of using super sexy girls to make his annual calendar. Interestingly, we found that one of Madhur's 'Calendar Girls' Akanksha Puri has been an air hostess for Kingfisher Airlines and was coincidentally, handpicked by the senior Mallya himself. Excerpts from a conversation with her.

How did you become an air hostess?
I wanted to meet people from different walks of life and coming from Indore, I didn't get that platform earlier. I wanted that exposure, plus I loved travelling. I had never planned to join the aviation sector, but once I had gone to visit my cousins in Chandigarh, where walk-in interviews for Kingfisher Airlines were happening. I also decided to give it a try. Vijay Mallya was there himself along with a panel to interview us. I too was not alone and there were a few girls with me to give the interview. He asked me a number of questions, but what struck me the most about him was how he was a very good observer. I find a lot of similarities between him and Madhur Bhandarkar sir. Mr Mallya, apart from the usual questions, asked me what I liked about fashion, friends and whether I liked to go out, as against talking about just aviation. Much like that, Madhur sir came to know that I was from Indore and he started talking to me about Ujjain and Mahakal as he is a Shiv Bhakt. I too believe a lot in Shiva and Ujjain and coincidentally, I had tied the red and yellow thread from Ujjain at that time. Madhur sir visits Ujjain before each of his releases. I later realised that that was his way of knowing whether I would fit in his role.

Any memories of the time when you were a cabin crew?
I was flying Kingfisher first class and was an Inflight Bartender (IBT). I had been trained to serve the best of wines and liquor. Mr Mallya had created a beautiful lounge with two white couches and four bar stools and the bar was my space, where I would be throughout the flight. I have flown many stars including Priyanka Chopra, Kangana Ranaut, Sidhartha Mallya and Deepika Padukone. I have also flown the Kingfisher Calendar girls. They were all tall, skinny girls and were all about glamour. The idea of them shooting at the best international locations with the top photographers would always fascinate me. If we would be flying on a night flight to London, there would be people just sitting at the bar for the whole night. I would not get rest as there was some body or the other always at the bar. There would be a lot of people flirting with you and I would get to hear a lot of inside stories as when people get drunk, they talk a lot of things that they otherwise would not. Sidhartha Mallya and I have flown many times and I remember him to always be a very good boy. He was the only boy who at my bar would have just orange juice and coconut water. He would not drink at all. The female superstars would usually take their beauty sleep and would rest. I have seen a lot of things happen on a night flight, things that happen under the blanket once the lights are shut. But being a crew, we have to keep our mouth shut even when we can see a lot of things.There are things you choose to ignore unless it's a problem for other passengers or if it becomes very obvious. Fortunately, the seats and blankets are very big in the first class.