I like Mallika Sherawat, not for how she looks but for what she does. She has a beautiful body and she does not feel it necessary to hide it behind layers of clothing.
Having said that, I must also say two things. Firstly, at least half of the leading heroines of the past ten years have had to expose or dance in the rain or perform bedroom scenes at some stage in their career. This applies to Mumtaz, Rekha, Dimple Kapadia, Madhuri Dixit, Zeenat Aman and many others. The ones that last usually move on to do better things; the ones that only show their skin will soon fade away. Mallika is currently at ’that’ stage in her career.
Secondly, a good actor or actress will only perform if the director is good, and the script is powerful. I have seen Mallika Sherawat in two movies: Khwahish and Murder, and I have noted a huge improvement in the latter. Only part of the credit for this goes to Sherawat; at least as much belongs to Mahesh Bhatt and his team of directors and producers.
There is also another point. The reaction to Mallika’s in-your-face kind of sexuality is often coloured by our own prudish mentality, which is only a few hundred years old, and borrowed from foreign invaders. Let us never forget that ours is the country of kamasutra and khajuraho, when women’s sexuality is a part of tradition and culture.