TIL Desk Bollywood/ Mallika Sherawat is bold, fearless and outspoken. The actor, who works closely with an organisation that fights against human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of children, says she wants to be the voice of women who don’t have one and that activism is important for her. She was teargassed and beaten up in her Paris apartment in 2016. She also had to deal with a “crazy terrible stalker”.
Does she fear for her life? “I can’t stop living my life. What’s good if I don’t get to use my voice for the cause that I believe in? I believe in women empowerment and to be the voice for women who don’t have a voice. I get mails from Haryana… from women saying, ‘Show us the way’. They want to make something of their life. My activism is very important to me,” said Mallika.
She wants to inspire women across the country through her story on facing her stalker in ZEE5’s anthology series, The Story. Talking about the episode of the digital project, she said, “It was kind of reliving the nightmare, but it was important for me to speak up about the experience. In India, a lot of people think that the life of a famous person is very simple… but actually, it’s not. We all have our own challenges and problems. I had this crazy, terrible stalker. Also, what’s happening in India right now with all these gang rape cases… there is a need to take self-defence seriously.”
