PremiumI love being called a sex symbol and have no qualms about being called as a sex symbol, says Malaika Arora
The actress cum host cum reality show judge was talking at the recently held ‘India Today Conclave 2023’
Last Updated: 05.23 PM, Mar 19, 2023
Whenever there is any mention of the name ‘Malaika Arora' the first thing that comes to mind is an ageless beauty who has not only redefined terms like ‘Diva’, ‘Gorgoeus’, ‘Oomph’, but also a young actress daring to dance atop a moving train to the tunes of ‘Chhaiyya Chhaiyaa’. Well… it is the same Malaika Arora who was at her best at the recently held ‘India Today Conclave 2023’.
When the conversation began, the host asked Malaika Arora as to the secret of her not ageing and managing to stay young forever despite being so many years in the industry. Pat came the reply, “I live in a oxygen tank!”. When asked about how she manages to stay relevant all these years despite just a few item numbers, the cool and composed Malaika replied, “I am more than just a few songs. To span over 30 years and still manage to stay relevant is not easy. I don’t think that you can actually just do that harboring on good looks. Because, at some point, the looks are going to fade away. So, you have to move beyond that looks.
I am very happy and proud to say that I am a part of a business, where I am not an actress… a quintessential actress. I have not done a full fledged film in my entire span of career so far. But, still, I am a part of the industry and get the kind of love and all the respect that any actress in the industry gets.
When asked that behind the sex symbol that she was, what were her true insecurities. To which, Malaika replied, “Firstly, I love being called a sex symbol. I have no qualms about being a sex symbol. I would rather be known as a sex symbol than being called Plain Jane. I am very happy and I like that tag (sex symbol).
When asked about whether she attributes a lot of her fame to the family that she was married into and today, how did it feel when she had parted ways (with them). To which, an extremely candid Malaika said that it did have a lot of benefits in her life, but, she just could not rest on the fact that she had a famous surname. She added that, it (the surname) did open up a lot of doors, but, at the end of the day, she had to work, irrespective of what her married surname was, she had to work hard and prove herself every single day to stay in the game. Malaika also said that, when she did not have that surname and when she went back to her maiden surname, she still continues to work and make a difference.
She also made it a point to say that, she had loads of people telling her that she was making a mistake by dropping the surname. She added that, for her, she wanted to stand on her own feet. And to drop her surname and to go back to her maiden name, gave her a sense of self and that’s what made her feel that she could do anything or take on anything!
And when Malaika was asked about the challenges that she might be facing while co-parenting and being a single mother, the diva said, that she thought that co-parenting was very tough and that, it was not always that two people are on the same page about a lot of things. That’s why; she felt that, co-parenting was always tough. She also added that, thankfully, both Arbaaz (Khan) and she are better humans and better people today and that she was really proud of the fact that they could co-exist and be able to give their child all the love and attention that he needs and deserves.