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Mallika’s daring ensemble at Cannes has not only captured eyeballs, but also the imagination of designers back home. "One needs guts to wear an ensemble like this on the red carpet, where everyone is watching - but she’s pulled it off.

The ensemble goes perfectly with her siren image, it's so very 'Mallika'. She represents the new breed of Bollywood - the strong, confident young woman.

Mallika isn't renowned for her acting skills, she's known for her sexiness and flaunts it proudly," says designer Nikhil Mehra.

Agrees designer Ranna Gill, "With Mallika, what you see is what you get - she has no pretensions and she can carry off what she wears. This particular ensemble is extremely oomphy, but that's Mallika for you. Had she worn this ensemble for a conservative event in India, it would have been out of place. But Mallika is at Cannes, where revealing is chic and she's hobnobbing with the bold and the stylish like Paris Hilton... it's not misplaced at all."
"The outfit goes with her image and is too predictably her. There could have been an element of surprise to make her look sexier. The ensemble doesn't excite me. It would have been better if there had only been one revealing element in the outfit - either the neckline or the legs. Plunging necklines are in, and the deep-cut choli looks sexy, but there should have been just a hint of the legs showing."

Puja suggests a different combination with the choli: "The choli could have been worn with a voluminous skirt or jodhpuris with 2-3 belts at the waist to accentuate the lower half of her body, which is sexy."