Salman Rushdie: The Ladies’ Man
Shivangi Singh

What makes women flock to Salman Rushdie? What tempts the most gorgeous of ladies to melt in his arms? The author, who turns 62 this June 19, can hardly be termed as ‘classically good-looking’. But beautiful women all around the world -- irrespective of class, caste, sect -- aspire to be his arm-candy.
And he shows-off his woman with characteristic panache, drawing sighs from younger men and envy from his contemporaries.

There is something about the controversial author, that makes female of the species, throw caution to the wind and follow him around. He is known for his Casanova traits, his flings, his four unsuccessful marriages, but that does not deter women from swarming around him. Rushdie is single again after the breakdown of his fourth marriage with Indian actress and model Padma Lakshmi, the host of the American reality-television show ‘Top Chef’. Their marriage ended on July 2, 2007. It was Padma Lakshmi’s wish to end the marriage. "Salman Rushdie has agreed to divorce his wife, Padma Lakshmi, because of her desire to end their marriage," his spokeswoman said in a statement on his behalf.

There were persistent rumours that the 38-year-old Padma Lakshmi had started thinking of him as `raving certifiable bonkers`. She later affirmed it by saying, "Three previous wives and I cannot be wrong!” But few years back, the same Mrs Rushdie had once exclaimed that he won her over within moments of meeting her for the first time. "Any woman who has heard him speak for five minutes would just melt," she had said then. "He`s very charismatic. I think he`s very handsome, very beautiful and very sexy."

Charismatic he certainly is, otherwise how could he win over any woman he lays his eyes on. Perhaps his baldness, his age, fades into oblivion, when he chooses to use his charm over the woman he wants to trap. Rushdie’s first wife was the British Clarissa Luard, to whom he was married from 1976 to 1987, and with whom he has a son, Zafar. After marriage to Luard, Rushdie became a British subject. Around this time, his first book, ‘Grimus: A Novel’, was published in 1976, but this bizarre science fiction version of an old Sufi poem received unflattering reviews. Rushdie took to copywriting for an ad agency, and after working for a decade, he had his breakthrough with his second book, the controversial ‘Midnight`s Children’ that brought him critical acclaim and the Booker Prize in 1981.Then Rushdie started working on ‘The Jaguar Smile’, a travelogue that chronicles Rushdie`s journey to Nicaragua in 1986 and his fond remembrance of the Sandanistas. It was also around this time that his marriage had started failing; he divorced Luard (now late), and very shortly, just three months later married Marianne Wiggins, an American novelist in London.

But this marriage could survive for just five years. Rushdie and Wiggins were married in 1988 and divorced in 1993. After the divorce, Higgins was quoted as saying: "All of those who love him wish that the man had been as great as the event." Rushdie also had a fling with model Marie Helvin, a close friend of Mick Jagger`s ex-wife Jerry Hall.

Then Elizabeth West, a former literary assistant with the British publisher Bloomsbury, came into his life. They were married at a simple but much-covered Labour Weekend ceremony in East Hampton and they have a son, Milan. The marriage lasted from 1997 to 2004. Perhaps, Elizabeth West was aware that her husband’s interest had turned elsewhere.

Rushdie was going through a crisis due to one of the most controversial books of all times, ‘The Satanic Verses’ (1988). The Iranian government (1998) had officially distanced itself from the fatwa - or bounty - that the Ayatollah Khomeini had put on Salman Rushdie`s head nine years earlier for writing ‘The Satanic Verses’, known to be a blasphemy against Islam. Rushdie’s life was in danger with conservative fundamentalist organizations continuing to offer rewards of up to USD 3 million for the author`s life.

Viking`s New York offices had received four bomb threats. Barnes & Noble and Waldenbooks refused to display ‘The Satanic Verses’ in their windows. In London, people were burning copies of the book. At least 19 people had died in protests and riots in India and Pakistan. The book`s Japanese translator, Hitoshi Igarashi, was killed. Its Norwegian publisher was shot and wounded. Its Italian publisher was knifed.

In this tumultuous time, Rushdie met Padma Lakshmi at the ‘Talk’ magazine launch party on Liberty Island in 1999. The 29-year-old Ford model and actress, a Tamil Hindu Brahmin from South India, was the host of a much publicized Italian talk show, which she compered wearing nothing but a bikini. She was a multi-lingual, spoke five languages and had written a culinary book called ‘Easy Exotic: A Model`s Low-Fat Recipes From Around the World’.

The attraction between the duo was electric. One editor said about Padma Lakshmi, "She`s totally enamored (of Rushdie). She`s adorable, sexy, very beautiful. She`s not dumb. She`s got a career going now. She`s got these TV programs she`s developing for the Food Channel." The attraction between Rushdie and Lakshmi was becoming too palpable to remain under wraps for long. And after divorcing West, Rushdie did not waste any time in getting married to Lakshmi in 2004.

Rushdie always defended his wife when she was termed as being just an ‘arm-candy’. In an interview in 2005, he said, "Anyone who`s met Padma knows she`s as intelligent as they come. But, you know, it`s not supposed to be permitted to be gorgeous and really smart and also very nice." He expressed distress when he became the target of media attacks at his relationship with a woman, more than 20 years his junior. "It feels very odd to see newspaper articles saying `Beauty and the Beast` and `Why Do Beautiful Women Love Ugly Men?`" he said in an interview.

After his divorce with Lakshmi last year, Rushdie expressed disillusionment with the institution of marriage. For the first time the author, who is generally irreverent about anything and everything, appeared solemn and hurt. He said, "Girls like it (marriage), especially if they`ve never been married before? It`s the dress. Girls want a wedding, they don`t want a marriage. If only you could have weddings without marriages."However, the Ladies’ Man has moved on and was recently spotted nuzzling Scarlett Johansson`s neck in her new music video. Rushdie makes a cameo appearance in the 23-year-old actress-turned-singer`s ‘Falling Down’, the first single from her upcoming album of ‘Tom Waits Covers’.

Rushdie was also seen with Bollywood actress Riya Sen, in a cosy tête-à-tête. He was also being frequently spotted with the American athlete-turned model, Aimee Mullins, who was even younger than his former wife Padma Lakshmi. She was listed among the world’s top 50 beauties by the People magazine. Later, Aimee denied having relationship with Rushdie and suggested that they are just ‘good friends’.

In an interview, the Booker Prize winner expressed another wish – to write the Kama Sutra. He went on to talk about the use of fingernails to enhance sexual desire as taught in the chapter four of the classic love guide.

Rushdie is back at it again, his latest crush is 32-year-old stage actress Pia Glenn. The 6ft tall Glenn brushes off the 29-year age gap and the completely mismatched heights as insignificant, describing her relationship with Rushdie as a `meeting of minds`. Talking about Rushdie, Pia said, "I`ve waited a long time to feel this way about a man. I`m very, very lucky. I`m very, very happy. I`ve never been this happy."

Let`s see how long Pia remains this happy, may be, till the time some hot chic catches the fancy of the flamboyant author. Ladies, beware!