Right from her name change (her original name is Rima Lamba), to the judgment she had to face for her career choices, Mallika spoke about everything under the sun during a long conversation with Mashable’s The Bombay Journey.

Speaking about her breakout role in Mahesh Bhatt’s thriller Murder, Mallika Sherawat said that after doing the film she was typecast as the ‘dumb broad’ types by a section of the media. “There were a lot of judgments. They were like ‘acha yeh toh bold scene deti hai’. Actresses who are glamorous are dumb, broads are dumb; that’s the stereotype some actors suffer from. The media also never looked at the more bright and intellectual side of me,” said the actor.

Mallika also opened up about how she was loved by men after her bold stints on screen, but lamented that some women were not so welcoming.

“I wore a bikini in Murder, and actresses before me had worn one. But I was so nonchalant about it, so unapologetic. I was like ‘I have a great body. What do you want me to do, wear a saree on the beach?’ I celebrated it, and that was too much for people to handle, especially women. Men I have no problems with, men love me in India, but some women are just so vicious to me. I don’t know why. I love sisterhood. I love to support women,” she said.

Despite all the eyeballs and the songs’ popularity, Murder did not result in a lot of work for Mallika Sherawat, unfortunately. Stating that the bold bits made the heroes and directors uncomfortable, Mallika said, “Murder was ahead of its time, my attitude was ahead of its time, which made the conservative and traditional heroes and filmmakers a little uncomfortable. So I did not get a ton of phone calls when the film released. It was always a struggle.”

Tired of the judgments that she had to face for her glam avatar on screen, Mallika decided to buy a home in Los Angeles and spend some time there. Action superstar Jackie Chan, with whom she had collaborated on the 2005 movie The Myth, helped her set base in the US. She said. “Jackie Chan is like an older brother to me, he’s so supportive. He opened all the doors for me in Hollywood.”

Mallika went on to add that after things got bad in Mumbai, she was assured by Jackie Chan that she would be well-received abroad. “They were burning my effigies. Some tried to shoot me saying she is spoiling Indian culture. I was feeling so attacked. I was an easy target because I had no support in Bollywood. Nobody would mess like that with a superstar’s daughter or son. Jackie said ‘Don’t worry, you just land there in LA and you’ll get the red carpet treatment’, and I did. He organised everything for me, and I met some fantastic people there.”

Mallika Sherawat had made her Bollywood debut as a leading lady in the 2003 movie Khwaish. She is known for her appearances in movies like Murder, The Myth, Pyaar Ke Side Effects, Welcome, Ugly Aur Pagli and Hisss.