Actor Mallika Sherawat is back, this time with a
hard-hitting thriller series ‘Nakaab’ that talks about the death of an actor
followed by a blame game and a drug angle. Sounds familiar? The storyline
reminds one of the incidents that shook the entertainment industry last year
right? Well, for Mallika, the show is a reflection of what’s happening in the
society.

“Nakaab is even more relevant today because of what’s
happening around us, the death last year and again this year, and that’s what
we are showing in the series so it’s very relevant and youth would relate to
it,” she told Opoyi.

Also Read: Sidharth Shukla died at 40; other actors who died young

Mallika says that “everybody is very curious about the
people who work in the industry.”

“People are really obsessed with their favourite celebrity
and star and even they want to know the minutest details of what their
favourite celebrity goes through. As a society, we have become very
voyeuristic. We want a camera in the bedroom and in the bathroom. We want all
the details and this is what is shown in the series. It’s exactly a reflection
of what’s happening today,” she added.

Also Read: Kangana Ranaut compares Bollywood with ‘Great Wall of China’

Mallika plays the role of TV and film producer Zohra Mehra
in the MX player series that is set to release on September 15.

“When I got the role for Zohra Mehra, I actually fell in
love because she is such a badass, she really kicks ass. This was important for
me to do because such roles with so much layering of grey characters, it’s not
written in mainstream Bollywood cinema. In the Mainstream Bollywood cinema, the
films I have done were either I got to do very glamorous roles or you are
playing a bahu or sati Savitri Bhartiya Nari. Parts like this where are these
written for female actors so this was majorly one of the reasons and Soumik Sen
is a brilliant director. I love ‘Gulaab Gang’ and working with him was such a
revelation because he was so good with actors,” she said.

Talking about Nakaab, it’s right to say that everyone is
wearing one in the current time and coming from an industry that has often made
headlines for the wrong reason recently, what’s the one thing she wants the
entertainment world to change?

She says that she would love to welcome it if the industry
changes its mindset on how they treat women in the industry.

“How the roles are written for them in the industry. Also,
if our entertainment industry stops doing this gap between men and women. There
are different rules for men and different rules for women and that’s where the
Naakab comes in because everyone is wearing nakaab in terms of when they are
dealing with the female personality and when they are dealing with a male.

Also Read: ‘Lucifer’ Season 6: A look back at the hit Netflix show

“Men can get away with anything, it’s a different
personality but if there’s a death of a male actor then the tendency is to
blame his girlfriend or his wife. Women are being blamed for everything and
that’s why also Nakaab is so relevant because it’s very similar for example
women are being blamed for things they have not done, how fair is it, the role
of social media is playing in shaping perception, the role media or new channel
is playing in shaping perception and the fact that a part of media is
benefitting from people’s pain, is exploiting people’s personal and private
loss.

“So it’s the right time 
now that we as a society should reflect on these issues and it’s very
beautifully portrayed in ‘Nakaab’ but in a very entertaining manner,” she said.

Mallika, known for having a bold attitude, made her debut
with ‘Jeena Sirf Merre Liye’ (2002). She was critically acclaimed for her roles
in ‘Kwahish’ (2003) and ‘Murder’ (2004). When asked if Bollywood has been fair
to her after two decades in the industry, she said, “I think Bollywood has been
really kind and good to me. It’s always an evolution for any society. When I
started off, kissing was a big taboo in the industry, all the actresses were
extremely coy, and reserved so when I came in, I was very bold and bindaas and said
I am not going to apologize for kissing onscreen or wearing a bikini onscreen.

“These things were not very commonly talked about. That was
also a few years back but now if you look, that has become very common and
perception has really opened up. As a society also we are more accepting of
forward-thinking independent women. So I look it as evolution really,” she
said.

However, she said that “yes at the time some conservative
filmmakers were afraid to cast me because they didn’t know what to do with
actors like me- this bold, bindaas who doesn’t have any inhibitions onscreen if
she believes in the script.”

“.. but now the same director have become very open-minded.
Nakaab wouldn’t have been made 10 years ago to show a woman who is abusing,
smoking, and using men and throwing them away. We didn’t see such characters in
Hindi cinema back then so its evolution as a society and I think right now is
the very golden period for the female actor because OTT is a game-changer,” she
said.

Giving an example of Shefali Shah, she said, “You look at
her character in ‘Delhi Crime’. She is my favourtie example. She did it so well
despite the subject being so sensitive. You would have never imagined that in
mainstream Bollywood cinema, a woman of her age will carry that look. It was
unheard of. In Bollywood cinema, you need those 19-20-year-olds who are
glamorous, running around trees and professing love.”

Mallika has also worked in Hollywood so if she has to
compare both the industry, what are key elements she can think of?

“There is really not much difference. It’s just the fact
that they have bigger budgets, they can afford things, and all that their
perception towards women. How they treat and portray women even on the red
carpet and in cinema. They are much more open-minded and accepting of a woman
unlike in our country but otherwise, there is really not much difference.

Also Read: Your life is not here, it’s all around you: Rhea Chakraborty on the overuse of social media

“We have great writers if you look at Delhi Crime or Scam.
It’s really top-notch work by writer and director so creatively we are right up
there. It’s just the budget that we are kind of lose out on a few things,” she
sums up.