Mallika Sherawat, Bollywood’s beautiful Twitter Queen – Part 2

We wrote recently about Mallika Sherawat, currently regarded by many as the hottest actress in Bollywood, and her role in the new Jennifer Lynch movie Hisss.   She is responsible for many Bollywood fans taking to Twitter (Mallika’s Twitter virgins!).  Mallika revealed some of her Twitter secrets such as who her  best Twitter friend is and also talked about serious issues such as racism in the US and the Shah Rukh incident

My best Twitter friend is probably @JesseBDylan, we DM (direct message) each other a lot. In fact, I think he actually decided to develop the project for me while “tweeting” each other! I guess my best “public” Twitter friend goes by the name of RagsTweets, he started a whole blog about my tweets and contests and all sorts of stuff, and he’s a really cool guy. And my biggest Twitter fan has to be @chandu4M,?

 

Who are you closest to in your family ?  Who is your boyfriend ?  Best friend ?  Best Twitter friend ?  Who do you admire ?

I have a brother, Vikram, who is also one of my best friends, and he manages most of my work that I don’t. (I just like being the creative one;) I also tied a rakhi around an American bro this year, he’s a good friend and has really helped navigate the Hollywood scene which is alot like Bollywood in some ways, and *very* different in others. My best Twitter friend is probably @JesseBDylan, we DM (direct message) each other alot. In fact, I think he actually decided to develop the project for me while “tweeting” each other! [(Jesse is Bob Dylan's son and director of "Kicking and Screaming" with Will Ferrell and Robert Duvall, "American Wedding", and "How High") is developing a project for her, specifically for the US market)  I guess my best "public" Twitter friend goes by the name of RagsTweets, he started a whole blog about my tweets and contests and all sorts of stuff, and he's a really cool guy. And my biggest Twitter fan has to be @chandu4M, he's been that for years and Twitter made it possible to get to know the guy a bit
and he's such a sweetheart.

I admire so many people, in many different fields, East and West-- but I'll keep it short. As far as actresses past and present: Bette Davis, Mae West, Barbara Stanwyck, Shirley MacLaine, Meryl Streep, and my fellow exotic contemporaries Penelope Cruz and Salma Hayek. AR Rahman. "Civilians" (non-Entertainment industry people) like Gandhi and the Yogis:)

I don't have a steady boyfriend right now. If only it was that easy to order a boyfriend from www.boyfriend.com! I'm enjoying being single right now:)

If I had a good role for every time I was stopped and frisked at an international airport, there'd be no actresses left in both Bollywood and Hollywood! "?

 

Who is the Bollywood actor she has a crush on ?  Hollywood actor ?
Haha, a lady never tells! And I wouldn't want any of the others to get jealous;)

Let's put it this way, if I were doing a blockbuster crowd-pleaser it would be with SRK, an epic style classic with Amir Khan, a sexy drama with Hrithik Roshan and a gangster comedy with Sallu! And the guys more my age like Imran Khan, Shahid Kapoor are really doing great, I'm loving their films. In America, there's many guys I'd love to work with, especially Edward Norton, I think he's a brilliant actor.

 Lots of women want to look as good as you do.  Do you have any make up or diet tips for your fans ?

I go all organic vegetarian, lot of fruits and water! I workout daily, the usual "star" stuff:) I get plenty of sleep, I think that helps, too. And I never go outside without my parasol to lessen the sun rays to the skin. Yes, my friends make fun of me but I know it works, and what works on camera works for me:) As far as makeup, I've started switching it up a bit, experimenting with more products I found on Rodeo Drive;)

Let's put it this way, if I were doing a blockbuster crowd-pleaser it would be with SRK, an epic style classic with Amir Khan, a sexy drama with Hrithik Roshan and a gangster comedy with Sallu! "

 

 

 Was Shah Rukh Khan discriminated against ?  Or were the airport staff just doing their job ? What do you think ?

If I had a good role for every time I was stopped and frisked at an international airport, there'd be no actresses left in both Bollywood and Hollywood! Now, it may be for different reasons they frisk me than
they do SRK;) but every culture does the airport security thing the way they feel they have to, and sometimes it may feel unfair in the moment, but in the end I think it's more common as an annoyance than outright discrimination. I know someone who talked to SRK when it happened. My friend said he was very cool about it. The press went wild with it because that's what they do. Here's the biggest star in the world, who happens to be of a Muslim background, held up in an American airport right after 20th Century Fox announced all over the world that it would be distributing his terrorist-themed comedy movie! Priceless.

 You are like many of us - both Westernized and Indian, and spending time abroad and in India. Do you have difficulty reconciling the two?

Both cultures have so much good to borrow from, I'm finding it almost natural to live in both worlds at the same time. I guess I'm a real global gal now:) There are of course differences that come up and
maybe make things a little more "interesting"-- but I have fun trying to find the common ground. Because of this, I've been told that I'm a good go-between for Bollywood and Hollywood. I grew up in Bollywood, and always loved Hollywood films, especially the classics during the "Golden Age." And as a little girl watching Bollywood films, I always thought that it would be much more fun and interesting to play the hero's part! Maybe that's why I've gotten the reputation in India for being "edgy" and outrageous. And I'll be completely honest, Hollywood has better roles for women than Bollywood does, at least right now.

 Tell us about your school and college days - where did you go to school and what was it like ?

I have a degree in Philosophy from Miranda House in Delhi. Looking back, I was so serious in school. If I had to do it all over again, maybe I would have tried out some other subjects instead of being
buried in philosophy books the whole time. Then again, I guess it made me who I am, and I'm feeling pretty okay with myself. There's always room for improvement, but I definitely feel I'm headed in the right direction.

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With that we finished our interview.  Good luck to Mallika with her new movie Hisss.  Here’s hoping we see plenty more of her in the US!

Bollywood’s hottest actress comes back to Hollywood with Jennifer Lynch’s new movie Hisss

Credited as the “original Bollywood bombshell,” Mallika Sherawat first captivated Indian audiences in the 2003 film Khawish and has gone on to become one of Bollywood’s hottest actresses.

Mallika will next star in Jennifer Lynch’s Indo-American film HIsss, alongside Irrfan Khan of Slumdog Millionaire fame.

Jennifer Lynch, David Lynch’s daughter, and a well known director in her own right, is the director for Hisss. She was also the director of the movie Boxing Helena, starring Sherilyn Fenn. There was a bit of a feminist outcry over the movie due to the sadistic nature of the movie (spoiler alert – Wiki link). In October 2008, Lynch’s film Surveillance took the top prize at the Festival de Cine de Sitges, and then became the first female to win the Best Director at the New York City Horror Film Festival.

Mallika is known to US audiences for her role opposite Jackie Chan in The Myth and emerged as a breakout star at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival, with Time Magazine’s Richard Corliss calling her “the next big thing.”  Over the past year, the interest in Mallika has begun crossing over to the West.  Mallika is an incredible dancer, and my all time Mallika favorite is the song “Maiya maiya” from the movie Guru.  Sorry about the low quality video, but I think you will still be able to see what I mean:
 

Earlier this month, she was given a special honor by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in a council presentation recognizing her as an honorary citizen of the City of Los Angeles and presenting her with a resolution for her extraordinary career and  charitable efforts. She was recently invited to the Twitter headquarters in San Francisco, and she received the Diversity Award in Hollywood and the Arts Award by the mayor of Jersey City. This fall in Los Angeles, Mallika will star in her first all-American project, playing a character inspired in part by Attorney General of San Francisco, Kamala Harris, in a film set during last year’s Presidential election.

Mallika currently resides in Los Angeles.