Manish Mishra (DNA; December 24, 2013)

Despite not having made a film in the last three years, – what is it about Mallika Sherawat that keeps her constantly in the news? Her outregeous acts. From singing Happy Birthday to Narendra Modi on national television to dressing trashily and making provocative statements like calling India a regressive country. But it’s getting old. Recently she blurted out some statistics on child marriage in India in her interview with Piers Morgan to stir up trouble. Yes, our country has many problems, but must she constantly harp on it? If it really bothers her, shouldn’t she be doing something to change things? Rather then blab about them endlessly on international platforms.

For once we would like her to say something positive about the country on shows that her pushy publicist manages to get the trashionista into — even if it’s just for a few seconds! What’s troubling is that the starlet is interviewed at the right shows at the right time but saying all the wrong things about her ‘homeland’. She is smart enough to know what topics to highlight to the western media for full effect but in the bargain she is doing a great disservice to the country and its people.

Piers Morgan is one of the most celebrated names in the global journalistic firmament. It was clearly a big deal for a Z-lister like Mallika to get her two minutes of fame on the show. Piers showed a visual clip where Mallika asked one of the reporters in India to do his homework and not misquote her statement on India being a “regressive society”. When Piers asked Ms Sherawat what rattled her cage, she was ready with statistics on child brides and female foeticide (we wonder who was her source?). She said, “We have to take a stand on it. There are 39,000 child brides in India... Things have to change.... Everyone has to rise together till India’s women are safe and get equal opportunities as men.”

One is tempted to ask the actress what she has done to improve the status on women in India? Any public service ad? Or offered support to an NGO? Or even showed interest in working at the ground level to bring about the “change” that she screams on every show on? No, Mallika. So just shut up, why don’t you?!