Actor Mallika Sherawat opened up about the backlash she faced for her scenes in Anurag Basu directorial Murder. She revealed that the 'bold scenes' in the film led to her being 'almost morally assassinated'. Mallika added that the public perception towards such content has changed for the better now.
In an interview with Times of India, she said, "When I acted in Murder (2004), I was almost morally assassinated for those scenes I shot; I was seen as a fallen woman. Today, those things I did back then are common in our films. People’s perceptions have changed. Our cinema has changed.”
Mallika made her film debut as a lead with Khwahish and went on to star in Murder in 2004 alongside Emraan Hashmi. Her 2006 film Pyaar Ke Side Effects was well received by audiences and critics.
Mallika also believes that the films in the 50s and 60s had 'wonderful roles' for women. "But even now, when I think of it, nothing beats the cinema of the 50s and 60s. We had wonderful roles for women, but we lack that beauty in our films in a big way. I have waited for years to get a role that has substance," she said.
In Murder, Mallika plays the role of Simran Sehgal, a woman stuck in an unhappy marriage with Ashmit Patel's character Sudhir, who was earlier married to her deceased sister. After a chance encounter with her former partner Sunny, portrayed by Emraan Hashmi, they rekindle the relationship. Consumed by guilt, she decides to end the affair but Sunny executes elaborate schemes to get her back.
Mallika also appeared in films like Aap Ka Suroor, Welcome, and Double Dhamaal. She has been part of international projects like The Myth, Politics of Love, and Time Raiders
In 2019, she made her digital debut in Tusshar Kapoor starrer Booo Sabki Phategi on ALT Balaji. She plays a ghost in the series which also stars Krushna Abhishek, Sanjay Mishra, Kiku Sharda and Shefali Jariwala.
The Murder actor is an advocate for women's rights. She spoke about women's issues at the 65th United Nations DPI/NGO Conference. In 2018, she made headlines after she spent 12 hours locked in a café during the Cannes Film Festival to support the NGO 'Free A Girl'.
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