Quick Info→ | |
---|---|
Real Name: | Reema Lamba |
Profession: | Indian actress |
Birthplace: | Moth, Hisar, Haryana, India |
Partner: | Cyrille Auxenfans |
Age: | 45 |
Reema Lamba (born 24 October 1976), better known as Mallika Sherawat, is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Hindi language films. Known for her bold onscreen attitude in films like Khwahish (2003) and Murder (2004), Sherawat has established herself as a sex symbol and one of Bollywood’s most popular celebrities. She then appeared in the successful romantic comedy Pyaar Ke Side Effects (2006), which won her much critical acclaim.
Since then, she has appeared in successes like Aap Ka Suroor, Welcome (both 2007) — her biggest commercial success so far — and Double Dhamaal (2011). She is one of the few Bollywood stars trying to cross over to Hollywood, with films like Hisss (2010) and Politics of Love (2011).
Mallika Sherawat Biography
|
|
---|---|
Born |
Reema Lamba
24 October 1976 (age 45) Moth, Hisar, Haryana, India
|
Occupation | Actress, model |
Years active | 2002–present |
Spouse(s) |
Karan Singh Gill (m. 1997, divorced)
|
Early life
Sherawat was born as Reema Lamba in Moth, a small village in the Hisar district of Haryana, to a Jat family. Mallika’s father is named Mukesh Kumar Lamba, and she was born in the family of Seth Chhaju Ram, a leading Jat philanthropist. She adopted the screen name “Mallika,” meaning “empress,” 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 the support that her mother has provided herm.
Although relations with her family were strained when she entered the film industry, Sherawat’s family has now accepted her career choice, and they and Sherawat are reconciled.
Sherawat went to Delhi Public School, Mathura Road. She has a degree in philosophy from Miranda House, Delhi University. During the initial days of her career, she claimed to be from a very conservative small-town family and faced many hurdles from them in pursuing her career. However, Sherawat’s family has rebutted this as a story she created to give her an aura of a rustic girl who made it big in Bollywood.
Career (Mallika Sherawat Biography)
Before entering films, Sherawat appeared in television commercials with Amitabh Bachchan for BPL and Shah Rukh Khan for Santro. She also appeared in Nirmal Pandey’s “Maar Dala” and Surjit Bindrakhia’s “Lak Tunoo” music video. She debuted in films with a small rôle in Jeena Sirf Merre Liye, credited as Reema Lamba.
Sherawat attracted notice with her appearance in the 2003 film, Khwahish. In 2004, she starred in Murder, a film inspired by Hollywood’s Unfaithful. She was noticed for her bold role, with critic Narbir Gosal’s writing, “she has the chops to pull off a role like this one. She´s confident and sexy as Simran and handles her emotional scenes with dignity.” She received a nomination for ‘Best Actress at the Zee Cine Awards for her performance in Murder. The film became one of the biggest hits of the year.
Since then, Sherawat has been known for expressing her opinions publicly and reacting to some of her statements.
In 2005, Sherawat acted in The Myth, a Chinese film co-starring Jackie Chan. She played an Indian girl who saves Chan’s character from a river. The Myth was her first international film. Her appearance at the Cannes Film Festival to promote the film secured a lot of attention, with Time magazine’s Richard Corliss calling her “the next big thing.”
Her performance in the 2006 film Pyaar Ke Side Effects, co-starring Rahul Bose, won her praise from around the industry, with critic Raja Sen commenting, “Mallika steals the show with her disarming candor.” and the film did moderately well at the box office.
Her first release in 2007 was Mani Ratnam‘s Guru, where she performed the song “Mayya Mayya.” She played a guest role in Himesh Reshammiya’s Aap Ka Suroor – The Real Love Story and reportedly charged Rs. 15 million for a 10-minute appearance. Her last release of 2007 was Welcome, which did exceptionally well at the box office. Her performance received favorable reviews, with noted film critic Taran Adarsh writing, “Mallika Sherawat is electrifying.”
Her 2008 releases were Ugly Aur Pagli and Maan Gaye Mughal-e-Azam. Both were unsuccessful at the box office. Sherawat’s next Bollywood release was Double Dhamaal, which became a moderate success at the box office, receiving ‘above average status by Box Office India. She also appeared in item numbers in films such as Thank You (Razia Gundon Mein Phas Gayi), Bin Bulaye Baraati (Shalu Ke Thumkey), and Osthe (Kalasala), which is a Tamil film. In 2012, she was featured in an item number in Tezz (Laila). Sherawat has also performed in Kismat Love Paisa Dilli, where she will play a Haryanvi.
On 23 October 2013, Mallika staring a reality dating show called Bachelorette India – Mere Khayalon ki Mallika aired, which was adopted from The Bachelorette to find the perfect bachelor for herself.
In 2009, Sherawat starred in a Hollywood film named Hisss, co-starring Irrfan Khan and directed by Jennifer Lynch. Based on the legend of Nāga, the story is an independent co-production between the United States and India. Endeavour Independent bought the distribution rights of Hisss. Sherawat promoted it with live snakes at the Cannes Film Festival 2010. Hisss was released in all major Indian languages on 22 October 2010.
Sherawat starred in another Hollywood film, Politics of Love, aka Love, Barack, directed by William Dear. She plays Aretha Gupta, a devoted local Obama volunteer coordinator. The film is a romantic comedy set during Barack Obama’s campaign for the US presidency. The first look of Love, Barack was unveiled by Sherawat at Cannes 2010. It was released in 2011.
Sherawat won the 2008 Renaissance Artist Award at the 16th Annual Diversity Awards held in California. On 14 August 2009, Sherawat received honorary citizenship in Los Angeles in recognition of her career achievements and charitable work.
In 2012 Sherawat featured American pop star Bruno Mars in his parody video of Salt-n-Pepa Whatta Man for the comedy website Funny or Die.
Personal life (Mallika Sherawat Biography)
During her brief stint as an air hostess, Sherawat married Delhi-based pilot Karan Singh Gill in 1997. She later divorced him. She kept her marriage a secret as the stigma of divorce would’ve prevented her rise in Bollywood. She dated French real estate agent Cyrille Auxenfans in 2017.
Activism
Sherawat has been involved with women’s rights activism, discussing women’s issues at the 65th United Nations DPI/NGO Conference in 2014. During the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, Sherawat locked herself in a cage for twelve hours to support the Free A Girl India NGO.
Filmography
Film
Year | Film | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2002 | Jeena Sirf Merre Liye | Seema | Special appearance; credited as Reema Lamba |
2003 | Khwahish | Lekha Khorzuvekar | |
2004 | Kis Kis Ki Kismat | Meena Madhok | |
2004 | Murder | Simran Saigal | |
2005 | Bachke Rehna Re Baba | Padmini a.k.a. Paddu/Alka/Meera | |
2005 | The Myth | Samantha | Chinese film |
2006 | Pyaar Ke Side Effects | Trisha Mallick | |
2006 | Shaadi Se Pehle | Sania | |
2006 | Darna Zaroori Hai | Riya | |
2007 | Guru | Champa | Special appearance in item number |
2007 | Aap Ka Suroor – The Real Love Story | Ruby James | |
2007 | Ee Preethi Yeke Bhoomi Melide | Special appearance in item number Kannada film |
|
2007 | Welcome | Ishika | |
2008 | Dasavathaaram | Jasmine | Tamil film |
2008 | Ugly Aur Pagli | Kuhumini | |
2008 | Maan Gaye Mughal-e-Azam | Shabnam | |
2010 | Hisss | Naagin | English, Hindi crossover film |
2011 | Thank You | Razia | Special appearance in item number |
2011 | Bin Bulaye Baraati | Shalu | Special appearance in item number |
2011 | Double Dhamaal | Kamini Nayak | |
2011 | Politics of Love | Aretha Gupta | English film |
2011 | Osthe | Mallika | Special appearance in item number Tamil film |
2012 | Tezz | Laila | Special appearance in item number |
2012 | Kismat Love Paisa Dilli | Lovina | |
2015 | Dirty Politics | Anokhi Devi | |
2016 | Time Raiders | Snake Empress | Chinese film |
2017 | Zeenat | Ananta | |
2018 | The Story | Self | Digital debut, web series released on ZEE5 |
2019 | Booo Sabki Phategi | Hassena, the walking ghost | Web series |
2022 | RK/RKay | Gulabo/Neha |
Television
Year | Television | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2005 | Sarabhai vs Sarabhai | Sunehri | Season 1, Episode 29 |
2013 | The Bachelorette India | Herself | Season 1 |
2014 | Hawaii Five-0 | Farah Khan | Season 4, Episode 21 |
Awards and nominations
Year | Film | Award | Category | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
2004 | Murder | Zee Cine Award | Best Actor – Female | Nominated |
2005 | Murder | Stardust Award | Superstar of Tomorrow – Female | Nominated |
2007 | Pyaar Ke Side Effects | Stardust Award | Star of the Year – Female | Nominated |
2007 | Pyaar Ke Side Effects | Annual Central European Bollywood Awards | Best Actress | Nominated |
2008 | 16th Annual Diversity Awards | Renaissance Artist Award | Won | |
2009 | Maan Gaye Mughal-e-Azam | Screen Award | Screen Award for Best Comedian | Nominated |
2011 | Hisss | Gotham Screen Film Festival & Screenplay Contest | Best Actress | Won |
2015 | 23rd Kalakar Awards | International Youth Icon Award | Won | |
2015 | Dirty Politics | Indian Film Festival Melbourne | Best Actress | Nominated |
2016 | Dirty Politics | Screen Award | Best Actress (Popular Choice) | Nominated |