‘There is more to me than just glamour’ ...says item diva Malaika Arora Khan, who is back on television, in a candid chat

‘There is more to me than just glamour’

...says item diva Malaika Arora Khan, who is back on television, in a candid chat 

What made you choose Colors’ India’s Got Talent? This show has a different connect and mass appeal, since common people come to showcase their talents. They show things I have never seen, been exposed to, or imagined. Also, I have always been associated with celebrity shows. Here, I get to interact with the aam junta.
The show is different. How different will you be as a judge? We all have our own USPs. I am a little soft at times. I connect with kids easily. They bring out the maternal side in me. I can’t bear to see people stabbing and breaking glass on themselves. I don’t have a stomach for those kind of things. I am intrigued sometimes — for example, when watching somebody jumping off 50 feet. I want to see it despite being nervous and scared.
Most participants hope to make it to Bollywood. Being part of the industry, do you feel burdened? Making it to the industry isn’t possible for all of them. But we have to encourage them, and when they aren’t up to the mark, we tell them to hone their talent.
Don’t you think your glam quotient overshadows everything else? I think glamour is synonymous with me. I can’t stand on a rooftop and scream that there is more to me than just the glam quotient. You’ve to look beyond my dress and hairstyle. There is also a brain that’s
ticking there. But, I am not screaming to prove it. I am the way I am. If you like me because I’m glamorous, so be it. If you like me, because I speak well or I have a brain and opinion, so be it.
More and more actresses are doing item numbers. Does it narrow the scope for the original item divas? I don’t look at them as item numbers. For me, they are special songs that enhance the plot or bring about some respite from what’s happening. These days, very rarely do you a have special number thrown in just because you don’t have anything else. I am okay with more actresses doing it because there is enough work for everybody. I am not somebody who will go up and say, ‘Why are you eating someone else’s food?’ If you fit the bill, you do it. Today, all the girls are very secure.
How involved are you in your production house with husband Arbaaz Khan? We started it together. He may be in the forefront, because he has directed and produced movies. But I am pretty active behind the scene.
Arbaaz couldn’t get his due as an actor. Has it ever been a letdown? Not at all. He has always wanted to be — and is more cut out to be — a director. He had to go through all that to be where and what he is today.
Do you plan to get into TV production? I would love to. We have a couple of concepts and if they find the right place, we will definitely do it. At the end of the day, TV is my first love. I started off my career from the small screen.

Malaika Arora Khan