“The culture was not ready for Murder.” Mallika Sherawat opened up about being criticised by her contemporaries for her bold role in the film Murder.
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00:00There are some very big-name actresses, I won't take their names.
00:02They were condescending to me on my face.
00:04I think they wanted me to feel ashamed of myself.
00:08Culture was not ready for me.
00:09We sell glamour.
00:11Chamcha Giri is the name of the game here.
00:20How did the industry receive you?
00:22Okay, I'll tell you.
00:24People think that life is so glamorous.
00:27Correct?
00:28Especially my image as an actress.
00:31Bold image.
00:33Glamorous image.
00:34But the reality is quite the opposite of glamour.
00:37We sell glamour.
00:39There is no glamorous life.
00:42In real life, it's hard work and labour.
00:46It's just pure labour. Nothing else.
00:49It's the work of a labourer.
00:50Absolutely.
00:51Masduri is the right word.
00:52Glamorous labourer.
00:53It's not glamorous at all.
00:55Glamour is only on red carpet.
00:57Magazine covers.
00:59No, no, no. In real life, there is no glamour at all.
01:02Zero.
01:02Are you happy?
01:03A lot.
01:04Are you sad?
01:05It has its fair share.
01:07What were those things in Bollywood
01:09that you didn't expect?
01:11That you have to be very diplomatic.
01:14People get offended.
01:16Very easily.
01:17And if you're not diplomatic,
01:19you lose out on projects.
01:21You lose out on people saying bad things about you, basically.
01:26Chamcha Giri is the name of the game here.
01:28Even now?
01:29A hundred percent.
01:30Traditional Bollywood is very formulaic.
01:37In 2004, the era was not ready for me.
01:41The culture was not ready for me.
01:43The culture was not ready for murder.
01:45Today's era has now reached where I was in 2004.
01:53And I had said it at the time, at Dunky's Chhot,
01:55openly, we are using erotica for the box office.
01:59So when we said that,
02:01everybody was just kind of shocked
02:02because actresses had a code of conduct in Bollywood.
02:05They were more demure, more shy,
02:09more femme-en-femme.
02:12Like femme-en-femme.
02:13Right?
02:14They didn't see a femme fatale.
02:16So with murder, a femme fatale was sort of introduced.
02:19Did actresses give you a competitive vibe?
02:22A lot.
02:24So how did you handle the situation then?
02:26They were very condescending to me.
02:28On the face?
02:28On the face.
02:29There are some very big name actresses,
02:31I won't take their names.
02:32They were condescending to me on my face.
02:34Very condescending to me.
02:36I kept crying and went to Mr. Bhatt.
02:38Because he was my mentor.
02:39What did he say to you?
02:43So many **** in Bollywood.
02:44One more.
02:45Like that.
02:47On the face?
02:47On the face.
02:49And time passed, you know.
02:52I really don't focus on these things, so.
02:55There was a lot of **** shaming.
02:57At the time.
02:59I think they wanted me to feel ashamed of myself.
03:02And they wanted me to feel ashamed of
03:05the bold scenes I did and
03:08in a way,
03:09feel ashamed of the success of murder.