Mallika Sherawat on backlash she faced for her bold scenes in Murder: "I was almost morally assassinated"

Mallika Sherawat made her debut with ‘Khwahish’ and shot to fame with the film Murder about 18-years-ago. The films were known for their bold scenes and established her as a sex symbol, however, it even had a few adverse effects on her public image and says she ‘was seen as a fallen woman’.

During a recent interview with ETimes, Mallika spoke about the backlash she faced for her bold scenes in Murder and how she was ‘almost morally assassinated’. She also added that the audience’s perception of actors has now changed.

Mallika 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.”

“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 added.

The film was directed by Anurag Basu featuring Mallika as Simran who is a woman stuck in an unhappy marriage with a workaholic man, Sudhir, played by Ashmit Patel.

After a chance meeting with her former lover, Sunny (Emraan Hashmi), she starts an affair with him. She ends the relationship after being overwhelmed with guilt, but he is determined to get her back at any cost.

Later, she also went on to star in films like Pyaar Ke Side Effects, Aap Ka Suroor, Welcome and Double Dhamaal. Apart from that she also starred in international films including Jackie Chan-starrer The Myth, Politics of Love and Time Raiders.

Mallika also made her digital debut with the ALTBalaji series Booo Sabki Phategi (2019) - playing a ghost in the web series - starring Tusshar Kapoor, Krushna Abhishek, Sanjay Mishra, Kiku Sharda and Shefali Jariwala as well.