Mallika Sherawat says leaving for US was a good decision: ‘I thought I could conquer the world, dekhi jayegi’

Mallika Sherawat has opened up about her decision to quit Bollywood after acquiring a lot of fame, and leaving for the US to ‘explore other horizons’. The actor had made her mark in the Hindi film industry with Murder in 2004, and went on to work in several other films. She is now back to Hindi films with Rajat Kapoor’s new movie, RK/RKay. Also read: Mallika Sherawat says a producer once wanted to heat chapatis on her waist for ‘hot song’

In a new interview, Mallika has said that she always had the devil-may-care attitude. The actor said she had the same attitude, when leaving for the US, as she had while leaving her home to work in Bollywood.

“I thought I could conquer the world, dekhi jayegi (will see). Coming from Haryana, from the Jat (a caste among Hindus) mindset. I rebelled, I packed my suitcase and set out for Bombay. Luckily, it worked out for me. I had the same attitude when I went to the US,” she told ETimes about her move to the US.

Mallika says her decision was ‘fruitful’ as she met the then US President Barack Obama twice, worked on a music video with singer Bruno Mars, and featured in an independent film, titled Politics of Love. “After having worked in Bollywood for 5-7 years, I thought the time was right to explore other horizons and different cultures. Faced with that situation, I told myself, why not. What have I got to lose? I have made enough name for myself in India. I’ve got money. I’ve got fame. Let’s try to go to a new country. And boy was it a good decision! Because America showed me so much love,” she said.

Mallika plays an actor from the 60s in Rajat Kapoor’s comedy film, RK/RKay. The film released in theatres on Friday and also stars Rajat in a double role, alongside actors Ranvir Shorey and Kubbra Sait. Mallika’s last project in India was Ekta Kapoor’s horror-comedy web series, Booo Sabki Phategi, in 2019. She played a ghost in the show that also starred Tusshar Kapoor, Krushna Abhishek, Sanjay Mishra, Kiku Sharda and Shefali Zariwala.