Mallika Sherawat, who played a character modelled on US Vice President-elect Kamala Harris in Politics Of Love, revealed details of their meeting during the prep of the 2011 Hollywood film. Mallika said that Kamala not only gave her ‘great advice’ but also made her feel comfortable at a time when she felt ‘like a fish out of water’.
Kamala, former attorney general of California and current senator from the state, created history on Saturday to become the first woman and person of colour to be elected to the position of Vice President. In her first speech as Vice President-elect, she said, “While I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last.”
In an interview with The Times of India, Mallika said that Kamala ‘gives hope and a voice to the voiceless’. Mallika revealed the advice Kamala had given her while she was prepping for Politics Of Love: “She was extremely helpful when I met her while prepping for Politics of Love. I played a Democrat volunteer who’s half-Indian, half-African-American in the film. I remember she gave me great advice. She had told me to try to keep the character balanced, and the film to represent both sides – the Democrats and the Republicans.”
Mallika, who made her Hollywood debut with Politics Of Love, also revealed that Kamala helped her feel comfortable in the US. “I was feeling like a fish out of water in Los Angeles at that time. It was a different country and culture, but Kamala put me at ease. I remember her telling me, ‘Getting out of your comfort zone is good to build character, it will make you a stronger person’,” she said.
After the US elections, a 2009 tweet of Mallika’s about meeting Kamala is going viral again. “Having fun at a fancy event with a woman who they say could be US President, Kamala Harris. Chicks rule!,” she had written in the tweet. In a Facebook post from 2010, she had written, “With Kamala Harris, attornry general of San Francisco. I was inspired by her for my role in Politics of Love…”