Actor Mallika Sherawat spoke about the judgement that she faced after the release of her breakout film, Murder, in 2004. She said that she received a lot of flak in the public, who were outraged by the film’s racy content. She also recalled an anecdote about being ‘shamed’ on national television, and said that her effigies were burnt after the film’s release. Mallika appeared on Ranveer Allahbadia’s show, where she also discussed growing up in a patriarchal society, and said that she chooses to focus on the positive side of her fame rather than the negatives.

She said, “I went to a news channel with Bhatt saab during Murder, and the news anchor started reciting the lyrics of the song to me. He focused on certain words, and he asks me, this journalist, ‘Sharam nahi aayi (Didn’t you feel ashamed)?’ Directly! I told him, ‘No, I didn’t feel ashamed. In fact, I had a blast.’ He was shocked at how a girl can speak to him like that. I was very open about it. I said, ‘We have used erotica for box office’. What’s box office? Stimulation, right? And we’re still talking about Murder, even 20 years later. Imagine the impact that the movie has had.”

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Opening up about the patriarchal lens through which women are viewed in society, Mallika said, “Women are controlled through shame. It serves the patriarchal culture to control women through shame. But I feel now, it’s becoming less. Women are becoming more open. As compared to 2004, definitely. They burnt my effigies after Murder. Society at the time wasn’t prepared for either me or Murder.”

Mallika was seen in Rajat Kapoor’s RK/RKay a couple of years ago, but more recently, she played a supporting role in the comedy film Vicky Vidya Ka Voh Wala Video, which stars Rajkummar Rao, Triptii Dimri and Vijay Raaz. The film opened to poor reviews, and earned more than Rs 5 crore at the box office on its first day of release.

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