Here’s why Reema Lamba became Mallika Sherawat

Mallika Sherawat opened up on how she battled patriarchy to become an actor. She'll be seen in an upcoming web series Nakaab.

Leher Kala writes: Amid the barrage of opinion, it’s easy to miss that actors like Sherawat have been trailblazing risk-takers. (File)

“I faced a lot of opposition from my family and I battled patriarchy,” Mallika Sherawat said talking about her initial years in Bollywood. The actor opened up on her family and expressed how her parents and siblings were “extremely conservative” and she had “no support at all.”

Mallika Sherawat was born as Reema Lamba. When asked what urged her to change the name, Mallika said she faces social stereotypes in that phase of her life too. “My father was like — she will go into films and ruin the family name. He disowned me. So, I disowned his name. I adapted my mother’s name. Sherawat is my mother’s name,” she told in an interview to Bollywood Bubble.

Mallika made her debut with 2002 release Jeena Sirf Merre Liye. But she rose to fame with 2004 release Murder, which gave her the tag of a bold heroine. She was also judged for her choices by the audience, her contemporaries and even the filmmakers. “There was a lot of judgement that she has no moral, she is a fallen woman. Dekho kaise scenes karti hai, kiss karti hai. bikini pehni hai… this and that, but it is all part of experience,” Mallika said, adding that she is happy that the audience has become “tolerant” today.

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The Hisss actor will next be seen in web-series titled Nakaab, which sees her in a never-seen-before avatar. Talking about OTT platform, Mallika said the digital space is a boon for female actors. “For actresses, OTT has come as a boon. Look at Shefali Shah. She is headling a show. In main stream, that is not possible. Main stream follows a formula, which has worked for me brilliantly but I prefer OTT,” she concluded.

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First uploaded on: 15-09-2021 at 21:59 IST

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Mallika Sherawat

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