'Heroes are scared to romance me'

'I am very bold, that's why they get intimidated by my presence.'

The famously bold and fiercely opinionated actress Mallika Sherawat is thrilled to have bagged a starring role in the coming multilingual film Nagmati, which went before cameras on Monday with a mahurat puja.

In a first for her career, the actress

features in a double role in the film.

Ask her if she was offered a dual role

before in her career that she could not

take up, Mallika tells "I had to let go

of so many interesting roles in the past

because I don't compromise on

anything. Those who compromise

eventually get those plum roles."

The first of a two-part interview:

This is your first film where you are playing a double role. Tell us more.

I watched Seeta Aur Geeta in my

childhood where Hema Maliniji played

a double role. I have grown up

watching Amitabh Bachchanji in

several films where he played a double

role.

So I was half nervous, half excited

when the makers of Nagmati

approached me for the film.

Playing a dual role is always exciting

for any actor because he or she gets to

play two characters in one single film.

I am doing it for the first time.

Whether I fail at it or excel at it is

something I will get to know only

when I begin shooting.

I am keeping my fingers crossed.

Were you offered a double role before in your career, but you could not take it up for some reason?

Not only a double role, but I also had

to let go of so many interesting roles in

the past.

Reason?

Compromise. And I don't compromise

on anything. I did not enter the

industry to compromise, you know.

Those who compromise eventually get

those plum roles.

It is not just a double role, but also a title role. Do you feel any pressure mounting on you?

I feel when an actress gets to play a

title role and that too in a femalecentric

film, it is good for the whole

industry. This inspires writers to write

more such characters and films.

Earlier, only male actors used to get

such 'privileged' roles. But now, slowly

and slowly, the tide is turning and

female actors are also getting to do

these kinds of roles.

What are your preparations to pull off this character?

This film involves a lot of action, so I

have trained in action.

I tried to learn horse-riding as well,

which was a very difficult task to do. I

saved myself from getting hurt twice.

I also learnt sword-fighting because there are many scenes where I fight with a sword.

I insisted on doing action scenes on my

own. I was completely against the idea of

hiring a body double for the same. It is a

very tough task. You need months of

training to do action convincingly.

You have so much potential in you. When will we see you in roles that commensurate with your talent as an actress?

This will happen only when the directors

start thinking out of the box.

I recently completed a film with Rajat

Kapur. I have got the opportunity to play a

really interesting character in it.

I am also working with Gurmeet Singh, the

director of Mirzapur.

We are doing a streaming show together. We

were shooting in Delhi. That is also a great

role.

I feel that now some good roles are being

written for actresses.

When I did Murder, there was an acute

scarcity of such roles in the industry.

Things are changing slowly and slowly.

There is no hero opposite you in the film. Why?

I don't know why heroes don't want to

romance me. I think they all get scared of

me (laughs).

I am very bold that's why they get

intimidated by my presence.

After having done so many films, what do you think is your strength as an actress?

I think I am a very bold actress. I am a very

daring actress. I take risks.

I am not a hypocrite, something that has

done more harm than good to me. I often

land into trouble for not being a hypocrite.

I voice my opinions fiercely, which does not

go down well with certain people

sometimes.

Do you think you lost out on certain projects because of this?

Absolutely. A lot of projects I had to lose.