She might have entered the industry by delivering an incredible number of kisses on screen and by indulging in ample skin show, but that doesn't make Mallika Sherawat just a sexy bombshell. Sadly, but matter of factly, that's what Mallika was reduced to by lecherous men in the industry as indeed by the predators who tried to take liberties with the Murder star. Mallika says, “There were so many accusations and judgements on me. If you wear short skirts, kiss on screen then you’re a fallen woman with no morals. Men tend to take liberties with you. This happened with me too.

In another interview, Mallika made some really shocking revelations.  “I was thrown out of projects because heroes would say ‘why can’t you be intimate with me? You can do it on screen, what’s the problem in doing that with me in private?’ I’ve lost so many projects. It’s very reflective of the society, what women deal with in our country.”

How did she choose to walk her own path? “I’m a very headstrong woman, I can’t compromise. I’ve a lot of pride and self respect. There were times when directors have called me and said ‘come to me at 3 am,’ mallika narrated her sorry saga and how she became victim to the lecherous male gaze.

So why didn't Mallika chose to speak about these issues before is the question.  “I was so scared to talk about it because I thought they are going to blame me, that I must’ve behaved in such a way that prompted the director to say this. There is that victim blaming mentality which exists in our society and I always felt scared to talk about these things.”

“When people judged me, it made me very insecure, overtly critical of myself and question everything I did. It’s not a healthy space. At that time, a large section of the media was antagonistic towards me. They were always interested in sensationalism, which hurt me.My story, where I come from and what I battled, was overlooked, and it was all about how many kissing scenes I had. It made me insecure because I thought I had so much more to offer. But there was only one aspect of mine being highlighted and I really suffered because of that,” she was quoted as saying.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 03, 2018 10:25 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).