‘Obama’s just a phone call away’

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Mallika Sherawat, who is hardly seen in Bollywood these days, says that US president Barack Obama is just a phone call away for her. “And you may quote me on that,” says the actor who is set to start shooting for her next B-town project, Dirty Politics.

According to the Hisss star, the movie is based on the real life story of Bhanwari Devi. The scandal of the nurse’s alleged murder had been a burning topic as reports had alleged that the murder had been planned and executed by a politician from Rajasthan.
“The film is inspired from the real life story of Bhanwari Devi but it is not totally based on her life,” says Mallika, adding that the film will release in August.
“I play a dancer and Om Puri plays a politician who is very close to me. Ashutosh Rana is a police officer who tries to bring about differences between me and Om Puri. Jackie Shroff plays the villain,” she says, adding, “I could not start the shoot earlier as I was busy doing a few international films.”
We point out that her international roles, however, haven’t been meaty enough and Mallika rebuts, “I have played roles in Hollywood because those characters had a certain allure. For me, it is not important to play full-length roles. Being recognised for whatever I did makes me feel proud about my achievements in Hollywood.”
The actor is in awe of international star Jackie Chan, whom she worked with in The Myth. For her, he is the greatest of them all. “Yes! Having worked with Jackie Chan I am totally in awe of him. It’s sad that most Indians are not aware of him and have thus missed out on his films. I feel Jackie is a much better actor than all the Khans of Bollywood.”
Elaborating her US connections, Mallika says that President Obama is another favourite personality. “Yes! President Obama had invited me for dinner. He is always a phone call’s distance from me,” she says.
Coming back to the upcoming film, the actor is unhesitant in categorising most politicians as dakus. “At least 80 per cent of them are dacoits. To survive in India, you have to do politics. I have played both dirty and good politics. The dirtier the better,” she concludes.