Bollywood hottie Mallika Sherawat has said that her life is like that of US President Barack Obama, whom she met recently in Hollywood.
In an interview to Times of India's Prithwis Ganguly, Mallika said, "He (Obama) is a thorough gentleman - simple and intelligent. I even invited him for the premiere of my film Love, Barack which he gracefully accepted. In fact, I feel that my life is the same as Obama's. I do not come from a filmi family, nor do I have a Godfather. I'm from Haryana, but I changed the rules of the industry with my work and so has Obama. I entered an industry dominated by ones who use their surname as a passport, yet I managed to make a name for myself. I think we both are changing the rules of the game in our own way."
Asked about criticisms about her acting and the way she dressed, Mallika replied: "This is what I also want to know. I am the only Indian actor to have met the President of the United States, the most powerful man on earth. That is something special, right? And still people try to pull me down instead of celebrating the fact that an Indian has made it big.
"My obituaries have been written a number of times, but somehow I manage to resurrect myself. God has been kind.
"Society celebs and the so-called blue bloods of Bollywood are the only ones who have a problem with me. I think they can't stand the fact that I have made it without making any compromises."
Asked whether it was only good luck and God's kindness that were working for her, Mallika replied: "I'm high on life and my passion is acting. I'm doing just that.
The response I get from girls in small towns saying how much they adore me, keeps me going.
"I hope I'm inspiring girls like me from small towns to dream big. People from smaller places don't really get opportunities you know. "
Mallika replied in the negative when asked whether she had a boyfriend in Hollywood. "No. That's not true but I do have many Oscar winners asking me out and I also have proof! "
Mallika said she was contemplating writing her autobiography, for which a recent report said she was offered Rs 20 crore. "I have been approached and I'm contemplating writing it. But I won't do a tell-all right now. There is a lot that I want to do. Some point in my life "I would definitely write an autobiography. A girl coming from Haryana, a state with a high female foeticide record, making it big and meeting the President of United States is worth a story, no? "
On her impressions about Bollywood, she said: "Our industry tries to bully actresses. I don't know why the other girls don't talk about it but filmmakers want us to work for free, they don't want to pay our staff and all that. I have put my foot down and I have become the bad one, who is difficult to work with."
Mallika said she was presently on a fruit diet. "I'm on a fruit diet. I eat almonds, nuts and as I said
I'm a vegan now and loving being fit."
Mallika was shooting a dance number for Double Dhamaal at Mehboob Studios, Bandra, where the interview took place.
