Mallika Sherawat wants to form her own political party and says that Prime Minister Narendra Modi “sweeps her off her feet”! A t2 chat with the sultry siren who was in Calcutta recently to promote her next release Dirty Politics.  

In Dirty Politics, you shared screen space with stalwarts like Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri and Anupam Kher.  What have your learnings been from each of them?

I was very nervous in the beginning because there were such screen legends in the film. But they were all very nice and patient with me and helped me with my scenes. There was one scene that I couldn’t do because it was my first scene with Naseeruddin Shah and we had done 10 retakes and it took half a day! He told me to just relax and not have the dialogues in my head. He basically told me to let it be and not force anything. Directors write a scene in a particular way, but when the great actors do the scene, they interpret it in their own way and take the scene to some other level. The kind of improvisation they do on the scenes is unbelievable.

You play a political figure who manipulates men and moments for her gain. Were there any real-life women politicians you followed for inspiration?

I had the reference of Didi (Mamata Banerjee) for sure. Then there were Jayalalitha, Mayawati and Indira Gandhi. I studied how they dress, how they talk, how they go and ask for votes in a particular place and how they absorb the local flavours. It is based on the Bhanwari Devi (rape) incident, her life, the scandal that shook Parliament and led the government to resign. The film is inspired by her, but it is not on her.

The film’s been in the making for a while. Why the delay?

There were some date issues because the movie has a lot of actors. If I was available, Naseerji’s dates were not available. Getting everybody together caused the delay.

Your video wishing  Narendra Modi “Happy Birthday” went viral last year. What would you ask him if you met him?

I am a big supporter of Modi. I really, really, really have a lot of hope on him like the rest of the country that he will take India to dazzling heights. I haven’t met him yet. I want to meet and invite him and Mamataji to watch Dirty Politics. I want to discuss with him what’s happening with women in our country. There are a lot of issues regarding women. Last month, I was invited to the United Nations headquarters in New York where I discussed gangrapes which are happening on a repeated basis. A woman is getting raped every 20 minutes according to the UN. I will ask him how safe are we women in this country?

If you ever join politics, which political party would you like to join?

I will form my own party. I have always done things my own way. The biggest agenda for me would be upliftment of women because I don’t think anybody is taking it that seriously. After the Delhi rape case (in 2013), all of us thought that something will change... but the guy is still alive!

Which political figure do you admire the most?

Mr Modi! (Smiles) What floored me when I went to Gujarat was the amount of development. I thought I had landed in New York City! I was impressed to see the sense of security women felt in Gujarat. He believes in the  economic progress of the country. I don’t believe in dynastic politics.

You gave up Bolly for Holly, but haven’t really been able to make a mark...

Choosing Holly projects has made me a very, very rich woman. It’s added millions of dollars in my bank account. It’s made me dine with President Barack Obama. It’s made me hobnob with the who’s who of the world. I don’t think I am losing out. I have a great film like Dirty Politics which is coming out with great actors. That is more important than doing 20 films.

Ratnalekha Mazumdar