Mallika Sherawat opens up on facing hypocrisy and harassment in showbiz

After working on a bunch of international productions, Mallika Sherawat returned to India and marked her digital debut with The Story and then followed it up with Booo Sabki Phategi and Nakaab. Currently shooting for her another web show, the actor tells us she would want on focus on the digital space now.

“Digital space is revolutionalising Indian cinema. I finally believe that the directors are writing complex female characters. Traditional Bollywood cinema is formulaic. You wouldn’t see a role that Shefali Shah played in Delhi Crime in a Bollywood movie,” she says.

In the 2000s, Sherawat earned the epithet of one of the boldest actors for intimate her scenes in Khwahish (2003) and Murder (2004). Ask her about it and she recalls, “I was the first Indian actor to do a film with Jackie Chan. I auditioned for the role along with several other female actors. But I witnessed so much of hypocrisy following it. I felt no one was feeling happy seeing a small town girl, who came to Mumbai to make her career, travel abroad for film festivals. There was some bullying and harassment from a certain section of the media too. I couldn’t bear it and I thought it’s best to leave the country.”

But she didn’t let it deter her. As Sherawat turns a year older today, she believes she has evolved and is happy doing what she loves the most, shooting. Is there something she’s particularly looking forward to in the next year? “I don’t want to do loud roles. I want to play some realistic characters. I want to dabble in both Indian and international cinema. The industry in the West isn’t working in full capacity yet. But I’m reading scripts and will shoot soon.”