Man-eater Mallika Sherawat, long distance from LA, opens up on her Hissss-story. Ever since it was launched, your home production, Hissss, has been an eagerly anticipated film but it’s been in the making for a while now.
Will ‘Hiss’ be as awe-inspiring as the 10-years-in-the-making ‘Avatar’?
Hissss is a complicated, special effects loaded film. And this genre of film needs time for post-production, especially in Hollywood. I don’t think any film in the world can be compared to Avatar, the most expensive movie ever made. But Hissss will definitely raise the bar as far as special effects in India is concerned.
Your co-star Irrfan Khan says that the role of the vengeful reptile is tailor-made for you. That with your sizzling sensuality and sharp teeth, you make a frightening yet alluring man-eater.
Any compliment from the great Irrfan Khan is flattering. I’m a huge fan of his work and excited to see him in our movie.
Hmmm, so how many men do you kiss in Hissss? Snakes don’t kiss, they swallow. (Laughs out loud) You should ask me how many people I swallow in the film. You’ve been quoted as saying that Hissss is the “first female empowerment superhero snake horror film”.
What exactly do you mean?
Well, the nagin (female snake) is the ultimate femme fatale – a venomous shape-shifter. But at the same time, she is a sympathetic character. In our mythology she’s been depicted as a goddess and that in modern terms, would be a translated as a superhero. That’s my interpretation of the character. Most women are afraid of snakes, aren’t you? No, I’m not particularly afraid of snakes. They are pretty fascinating creatures. My earliest memories are of snake charmers who used to pass through my village in Haryana. We have had several superhit reptilian films in the past on love and vengeance, including Vyjayanthimala’s Nagin, Reena Roy’s Nagin and Sridevi’s Nagin.
Which one of them inspired Hissss?
There were also several other Nagin films too, made in South Indian languages. And also films made China, Hong Kong, Japan and Indonesia. Tsui Hark’s Hong Kong film, Green Snake, with Maggie Cheung and Joey Wong playing twin snakes, was interesting in a campy way. But strangely, one of my inspirations was An American Werewolf In London.
It’s surprising that none of our Indian Nagin movies were your muse?
Well, as a kid, I had enjoyed watching Sridevi’s Nagin. As we have just established, the subject is not new to Hindi cinema. So will it be the treatment, the SFX or Jennifer Lynch’s direction that will make Hissss different? It is a reboot of the old genre but the story, SFX and treatment are out of the box. Calling the Lynches (Jennifer and filmmaker and artist father David Lynch) different is a huge understatement.
Which was the most difficult scene to shoot?
The toughest part was dealing with the leeches crawling all over my body in freezing cold rain in the jungles of Kerala. The make-up ordeal was tough. It took over four hours for the make-up to be applied. I couldn’t drink anything the whole day and was dehydrated as I was wearing a complete body suit and couldn’t even visit the loo. Hats off to Big B for his stupendous effort.
Mallika was the first Asian star to be invited to Twitter. According to Twitter staff, since Mallika started tweeting, membership in India has skyrocketed. When asked if the social networking site helps her to keep abreast of what’s happening in her home country, the actress says, “Sure it does. It also keeps me in touch with my fans and their feedback keeps me grounded.
