Veena Malik

No, you couldn’t have mistaken this lady for Veena Malik’s quieter twin, even if she wasn’t conservatively dressed.

When Veena visited Delhi’s Nizamuddin Dargah a couple of days ago, the spirituality was accompanied by perfect makeup and a touching concern for the right camera angles. Nevertheless, it was an avatar Veena’s been seen in rarely.

In a sequinned burqa and black heels, Veena stepped out of a black car in front of the dargah, where she was received by dargah in-charge Afsar Ali Nizami. Barefoot inside and seated comfortably on the floor, Veena said, “Meri khwahish thi ki main Nizamuddin Dargah dobara aaun. Yeh doosri baar dargah aa rahi hoon. The last time I had visited was in 2010 with Ashmit Patel.”

Later, with a phoolon ki tokri and chaddar on her head, Veena offered prayers at the shrine. She sat in front of it to listen to the qawwals for a while, and then moved back inside the dargah office, perhaps because of the large crowds that her presence had attracted. Draped now in a golden dupatta, Veena said, “Main aa-yi thi black dupatta pehen ke aur ab yeh golden dupatta pehen kar aisa lag raha hai jaise main khil gayi. I look like a bride.”

So is she spiritual, we asked. “Hum bachpan se dargah jaaya karte thay ammi aur abbu ke saath. Hamare ghar mein savere paanch baje uthkar sab namaaz padhte thay. Yeh hamare ghar ka riwaaz hua karta tha. I’m a very religious person. Besides the dargah, I have also visited other religious places like gurudwaras, temples and churches. When I first came to India, I visited a gurudwara while shooting for my first movie in Punjab. I have also visited the Mount Mary church and the Mahalakshmi temple in Mumbai. I also have a small temple in my home in Mumbai.” Before leaving, she told us, “Maine bhi mannat maangi hai baba ke durbar mein, aur aasha karti hoon ki meri mannat puri ho jaaye.”