Bollywood's beautiful Twitter queen, Mallika Sherawat - Exclusive interview

I wrote recently about Mallika Sherawat, currently regarded by many as the hottest actress in Bollywood, and her role in the new Jennifer Lynch movie Hisss.

She is responsible for many Bollywood fans taking to Twitter (Mallika's Twitter virgins!). Mallika revealed some of her Twitter secrets such as who her best Twitter friend is and also talked about serious issues such as racism.

In the US and the Shah Rukh incidentWho are you closest to in your family ? Who is your boyfriend ? Best friend ? Best Twitter friend ? Who do you admire ?

I have a brother, Vikram, who is also one of my best friends, and he manages most of my work that I don't.

(I just like being the creative one;) I also tied a rakhi around an American bro this year, he's a good friend and has really helped navigate the Hollywood scene which is alot like Bollywood in some ways, and *very* different in others.

My best Twitter friend is probably @JesseBDylan, we DM (direct message) each other alot. In fact, I think he actually decided to develop the project for me while "tweeting" each other! [(Jesse is Bob Dylan's son and director of "Kicking and Screaming" with Will Ferrell and Robert Duvall, "American Wedding", and "How High") is developing a project for her, specifically for the US market)

I guess my best "public" Twitter friend goes by the name of RagsTweets, he started a whole blog about my tweets and contests and all sorts of stuff, and he's a really cool guy. And my biggest Twitter fan has to be @chandu4M, he's been that for years and Twitter made it possible to get to know the guy a bit
and he's such a sweetheart.

I admire so many people, in many different fields, East and West-- but I'll keep it short. As far as actresses past and present: Bette Davis, Mae West, Barbara Stanwyck, Shirley MacLaine, Meryl Streep, and my fellow exotic contemporaries Penelope Cruz and Salma Hayek. AR Rahman.

"Civilians" (non-Entertainment industry people) like Gandhi and the Yogis:) Who is the Bollywood actor she has a crush on ? Hollywood actor ? Haha, a lady never tells! And I wouldn't want any of the others to get jealous;)Let's put it this way, if I were doing a blockbuster crowd-pleaser it would be with SRK, an epic style classic with Aamir Khan, a sexy drama with Hrithik Roshan and a gangster comedy with Sallu! And the guys more my age like Imran Khan, Shahid Kapoor are really doing great, I'm loving their films. In America, there's many guys I'd love to work with, especially Edward Norton, I think he's a brilliant actor.

Lots of women want to look as good as you do. Do you have any make up or diet tips for your fans ? I go all organic vegetarian, lot of fruits and water! I workout daily, the usual "star" stuff:) I get plenty of sleep, I think that helps, too. And I never go outside without my parasol to lessen the sun rays to the skin.

Yes, my friends make fun of me but I know it works, and what works on camera works for me:) As far as makeup, I've started switching it up a bit, experimenting with more products I found on Rodeo Drive;) Was Shah Rukh Khan discriminated against ? Or were the airport staff just doing their job ? What do you think ?

If I had a good role for every time I was stopped and frisked at an international airport, there'd be no actresses left in both Bollywood and Hollywood! Now, it may be for different reasons they frisk me than
they do SRK;) but every culture does the airport security thing the way they feel they have to, and sometimes it may feel unfair in the moment, but in the end I think it's more common as an annoyance than outright discrimination. I know someone who talked to SRK when it happened. My friend said he was very cool about it.

The press went wild with it because that's what they do. Here's the biggest star in the world, who happens to be of a Muslim background, held up in an American airport right after 20th Century Fox announced all over the world that it would be distributing his terrorist-themed comedy movie! Priceless. You are like many of us - both Westernized and Indian, and spending time abroad and in India. Do you have difficulty reconciling the two?

Both cultures have so much good to borrow from, I'm finding it almost natural to live in both worlds at the same time. I guess I'm a real global gal now:) There are of course differences that come up and maybe make things a little more "interesting"-- but I have fun trying to find the common ground. Because of this, I've been told that I'm a good go-between for Bollywood and Hollywood.

I grew up in Bollywood, and always loved Hollywood films, especially the classics during the "Golden Age." And as a little girl watching Bollywood films, I always thought that it would be much more fun and interesting to play the hero's part! Maybe that's why I've gotten the reputation in India for being "edgy" and outrageous. And I'll be completely honest, Hollywood has better roles for women than Bollywood does, at least right now.

Tell us about your school and college days - where did you go to school and what was it like ? I have a degree in Philosophy from Miranda House in Delhi. Looking back, I was so serious in school. If I had to do it all over again, maybe I would have tried out some other subjects instead of being buried in philosophy books the whole time. Then again, I guess it made me who I am, and I'm feeling pretty okay with myself. There's always room for improvement, but I definitely feel I'm headed in the right direction.