Mallika Sherawat - Hot and 'Welcome'

Mallika Sherawat would like to shed her association with steamy sex in films and be recognized instead as a competent actor with great comic timing. The problem is that may not be what her 'fans' want.

3 December 2007 (Sawf News) - Mallika Sherawat would like to shed her association with steamy sex in films and be recognized instead as a competent actor with great comic timing. The problem is that may not be what her 'fans' want.

Its been a quite some time since she played the sexually charged role of Simran Saigal in the thriller Murder (2004). The film, and a later appearance of a doctored video clip that was sexually explicit in nature, earned her the name of a sex bomb and made her an Internet sensation, as search engines labored to find the clip for millions of salivating Indian males.

Mallika learnt her lesson and has since appeared only in comic capers (Bachke Rehna Re Baba (2005), Shaadi Se Pehle (2006), Pyaar Ke Side Effects (2006) ) which required her to merely flaunts her impressive assets not shed her clothes and roll in bed scene after scene as happened in Murder.

Unfortunately, the 26-year-old from Rohtak hasn't had too much of success doing comedies, despite the fact that she appears well cutout for the genre.

However, that could well change with the release of Welcome on December 21 because of the presence of an ensemble and very experienced cast that includes Akshay Kumar, Nana Patekar, Anil Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Feroz Khan and Paresh Rawal

Mallika plays Ishika the love interest of not one but two Hong Kong based underworld bosses - Uday Shetty (Nana Patekar) and Majnu (Anil Kapoor), who happen to be brothers.

The film is written and directed by Anees Bazmi who gave the year's biggest hit in 2005 with No Entry.

Welcome may just be the breakthrough that could see Mallika emerge as a mainstream actress.