Mumbai: Swedish model wanted by cops

Mumbai: Even as Goa police officials continue to hunt for Swedish model Lucky Mangarda, who uploaded a video on YouTube that showed her boyfriend and Israeli drug dealer Yaniv Benaim boasting of his connection with the Goan police, the model was keeping a low profile in Mumbai since the scandal erupted.

Mangarda who had briefly worked in Bollywood as an extra revealed that she shared breathing space with several Bollywood stars, including Kareena Kapoor, Ajay Devgn, Emraan Hashmi and Arjun Rampal. She did not reveal her present location, said she was in Mumbai last week.

She answered our question via email. "I was in Mumbai for 14 days between January and February and I shot at four different locations in the city. I shot for Stepmom in a Bollywood studio, that one on the hill," she said, presumably referring to Film City.

The model said she also shot for Devgn-starrer 'Once Upon a Time in Mumbai' at Tulip Star Hotel, Juhu, and at Nitin Desai's studio. She also mentioned Vama Apparels at Peddar Road, where she reportedly shot for Mani Shankar's film 'Knock Out'.

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In one picture, where Mangarda is dressed in a steel blue ghaghra choli, she is apparently on the sets of 'Stepmom', Karan Johar's remake of the Hollywood movie of the same name. "I was in a wedding scene. Kareena Kapoor was in the same scene and maybe Arjun Rampal too, but he had a false beard on, so I don't know," she said.

Mangarda has fond memories from the sets of 'Once Upon a Time'. "I especially liked Ajay Devgn; everything he did was so professional," said Mangarda, who added that Benaim never left Goa to join her in Mumbai.

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The model now has plans to return to Mumbai in August and learn Hindi. "I have got a better agent and this week's audition here went very well," she said.

Crime Branch officials in Goa had told local reporters that they had not gotten in touch with Mangarda yet. "We have been trying to trace her," said Crime Branch deputy superintendent Chandrakant Salgaokar.