What began as a random promotional quote from a Bollywood publicist, is now on the lips of one of Hollywood’s biggest heart-throbs.

A year ago, desi publicist Dale Bhagwagar (who handled PR for the gorgeous Shilpa Shetty for the best five years of her career) was asked by a British journalist from Daily Mail, if he felt any Indian actress could play a Bond girl. He’d promptly taken Shilpa Shetty’s name. Today, Daniel ‘James Bond’ Craig is echoing the publicist’s words.

After Dale’s comment last year, various websites and blogs carried out opinion polls on the subject, and Shilpa, with all the Celebrity Big Brother hype just behind her, topped the charts. The hoopla also created widespread speculation in India and abroad, resulting in rumours that Shilpa could be the likely choice for the next Bond girl.

Months later and after the release of his second Bond thriller ‘Quantum of Solace’, in an interview aired on NDTV Movies, Daniel has echoed Dale’s words, stating, "I think she (Shilpa) looks great and has a killing figure, just right for a Bond girl". This, coming from Bond himself, could be very flattering for Shilpa as well as her ex-publicist.

But when we got in touch with Dale, he wasn’t too amused. "Such developments are normal for a strategising publicist. I’d call it the power of good PR, " is all he replied.

Some power, indeed!