Watch Mallika Sherawat criticise India; Priyanka Chopra slams it

So, for all of us who thought that the prestigious Cannes Film Festival was about the movies, and much about red carpet glam, we were in for a surprise when actress Mallika Sherawat decided to shift focus on her new-found American accent and her rather unflattering remarks about her home country.

The video link of her comments went viral on YouTube, with many Indians criticizing her for her lack of sensibility and exaggerated image of her own self.

While being interviewed by Variety's Steve Gaydos for her next movie ‘Dirty Politics’, Mallika called India “regressive” and “depressing”.

"India is such a hypocritical society where women are really at the bottom of society compared to men...

“When I experience the social freedom in America, and go back to India, which is so regressive... It is depressing.”

The movie industry, obviously, hasn’t applauded her for her comments, with popular Hindi actress Priyanka Chopra vehemently expressing her disapproval at a recent public event in Mumbai.

“When it comes to Mallika's statements, I think they were very callous and I don't agree with her. It was upsetting for me as a woman. I think it was extreme misrepresentation of our nation. I don't think it's fair,” she said.

“I think we are a progressive nation. I disagree that we are a regressive nation… I think it's a misrepresentation of what our great nation is on the world platform.”

Mallika was quizzed about it on her twitter page by Indian writer Bharati Dubey, who tweeted; “how cn u make a sweeping statement tht india is regressive country”.

To which she responded; “Th state of women is regressive wt Rapes evday!!”

“I said Whats happening to women in India is regressive and depressing and I stand by it # RAPE.”

The unapologetic actresses added; “Need New Haters, old ones r beginning to like me:)”

Mallika’s VARIETY interview didn’t end there, she went on to brag about how her laurels, claiming she was the first woman to ever kiss and wear a bikini on-screen.

This was quickly refuted by many Indian dailies, with DNA reporting that “it was actually Devika Rani who was the first actress to lock lips on screen in Karma (1933)”.

“As far as wearing bikini is concerned, Sharmila Tagore did so in 1960s for ‘An Evening in Paris’.”

That’s not all. Her fake American accent also got much flak.

“It was neither Indian nor American, but it was exotic,” highlighted website BollywoodLife.

The actress, who shot to fame for her raunchy image and few kisses in ‘Khwahish’ in 2003, has done a handful of other films like ‘Murder’ and ‘Pyaar Ka Side Effects’.

Her international projects lead her to feature in Jackie Chan’s ‘Myth’, an unintentionally comical horror flick titled ‘Hisss’, and an American project named ‘Politics of Love’, which not many have even heard of.

It’s ironical that her comments were highlighted at Cannes, when the film organisers had created an exclusive section to celebrate 100 years of Indian cinema.

It also hosted a number of celebrated actors like Amitabh Bachchan, Vidya Balan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Sonam Kapoor, Nawazuddin Siddiquie and Irrfan Khan, and revolutionary filmmakers like Anurag Kashyap, Ritesh Batra and Amit Kumar at the festival.

With her acting career not much to write home about, at least being a loud mouth has won her some attention in the press.

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