Mallika Sherawat ITRANS: mallika) (born October 24, 1981, as Reema Lamba in Rohtak, Haryana, India) is an Indian actress and model . She has a degree in philosophy from Miranda House, Delhi University.
Sherawat’s birth name is Reema Lamba; she says that adopted the screen name of “Mallika”, meaning “queen”, to avoid confusion with other actresses named Reema. “Sherawat” is her mother’s maiden name. She has stated that she uses her mother’s maiden name because of all the support her mother has provided for her.
Personal life
She worked as an air hostess prior to entering films and it was around this time that she married a pilot, Karan Singh Gill. They are now divorced. This is at odds with a statement of hers that she is a virgin and , “…hasn’t found the right person to get into a relationship”.
Career
Mallika seen here in The Myth’s posterShe made her first onscreen appearance in a music video. She first attracted wide notice with her appearance in the 2003 movie Khwahish, which was, by Indian standards, quite racy. Ms. Sherawat appeared in a number of revealing costumes. Later that year, she starred in Murder, a film inspired by Hollywood’s “Unfaithful” that again challenged Indian film standards. She received a ‘Best Actress’ nomination at the Zee Cine Awards for her performance in “Murder” as it went on to become the biggest hit of the year.
Since then, Sherawat has been known as the Controversy Queen of Bollywood as she continues to make headlines through her outfits and blunt statements.
She also made news when she won a small role in a Jackie Chan movie, The Myth, where she again appeared in “sexy” costumes. She made a widely publicized appearance at the Cannes Film Festival to promote The Myth.
Since her debut, Mallika was often accused of simply being a sexy woman without talent. However, in 2006 her Pyaar Ke Side Effects co-starring Rahul Bose won her praise from around the industry and the film also garnered decent collections.
She is now beginning to work in the Kollywood (Tamil) film industry as well. The two films being Sivaji: The Boss, in a guest role, starring Rajinikanth and Dasavatharam starring Kamal Haasan.
Filmography
Jeena Sirf Merre Liye (2002) – Sonia (Credited as Reema Lamba)
Khwahish (2003) – Lekha Khorzuvekar
Kis Kis Ki Kismat (2004) – Meena Madhok
Murder (2004) – Simran Saigal
Bachke Rehna Re Baba (2005) – Padmini
The Myth (2005) – Indian Princess
Pyaar Ke Side Effects (2006) – Trisha
Shaadi Se Pehle (2006) – Sania
Darna Zaroori Hai (2006)
Guru (2007) – as Jhumpa (Special Appearance) Item number
Dasavatharam (Tamil) (2007) – Jasmine(announced)
Sivaji: The Boss (Tamil) (2007) – Special Appearance with a song
Preeti Eke Bhoomi Melide – Item number (Kanada) (2007)
Fauj Mein Mauj (2007 or 2008) – Sunehri Dhanda
Unveiled – announced
Welcome (2007) – Ishika (In Production)