Mallika Sherawat and Emraan Hashmi worked together in the 2004 film Murder. While the actors shared sizzling on-screen chemistry, they experienced a fallout shortly after the film’s release. In April, however, Mallika and Emraan ended their 20-year rift at the wedding reception of producer Anand Pandit’s daughter, Aishwarya. They posed together on the red carpet and were seen talking. Now, in an interview, Mallika opened up about their past feud, attributing it to their youth at the time. “We were so young, silly and stupid. You know, ego comes in the way. Industry main kaan bhi bohot bharte hain na log. (People fill your ears in the industry). I was advised wrong. He’s a great guy. He’s a wonderful human being. I have great memories of filming with him, even doing those intimate scenes. He was an absolute gentleman. He made me feel safe, and really good about myself,” Mallika said in a chat with Ranveer Allahabadia.
The actress added that she is open to the possibility of working with him again. “I would be very thrilled to work with him again and what a journey he’s had regarding his son and coming on top like that and having that experience. He’s just fabulous,” she added.
In the same interview, Mallika Sherawat talked about her role in Murder. The actress revealed that she faced massive backlash for her bold scenes in the movie. She said, “The culture wasn’t ready for me back then, and it wasn’t ready for Murder either. Only now has Bollywood caught up to where I was in 2004. At that time, actresses were expected to follow a certain code of conduct. They were shy, while I was unapologetic. With Murder, a femme fatale was introduced.”
Mallika Sherawat shared that she also faced judgement from her Bollywood peers. “There are some big-name actresses in Bollywood whose names I won’t take, but they were condescending to my face. There was so much slut-shaming. They wanted to make me feel ashamed of the bold scenes I did,” said the actress.
Directed by Anurag Basu, Murder also featured Ashmit Patel, Rajendranath Zutshi and Sheeba Chaddha in important roles.