Mallika Sherawat, an Indian actress and model, who is celebrating her 25th birthday today.


Mallika Sherawat (born October 24, 1981 as Reema Lamba in Rohtak, Haryana, India) is a popular Indian actress and model. Today, she is considered the sex symbol of India.



She worked as an air hostess prior to entering films. Sherawat's birth name is Reema Lamba; she says that adopted the screen name of "Mallika", meaning "empress" to avoid confusion with other actresses named Reema. "Sherawat" is her mother's maiden name.


Mallika's onscreen debut was in Lak Tunoo, a music video by Surjit Bindrakhia. She attracted wide notice with her appearance in the 2003 movie Khwahish. By Indian standarts the movie was quite racy, however it was known for its naturalistic and realistic topic.


In 2004, she starred in Murder, a film inspired by Hollywood's Unfaithful that again challenged Indian film standards. She received a nomination for Best Actress at the Zee Cine Awards ceremony for her performance in Murder.



She also made news when she won a small role in a Jackie Chan movie, The Myth, where she again appeared in revealing costumes. She made a widely publicized appearance at the Cannes Film Festival to promote The Myth.



Since her debut, Mallika was often accused of simply being a sexy woman without talent. However, her performance in the 2006 film Pyaar Ke Side Effects co-starring Rahul Bose won her praise from around the industry.



She is now beginning to work in the Kollywood (Tamil) film industry as well. She plays the second fiddle in Dasavatharam starring Kamal Haasan, Asin and Jayapradha.



Her latest project is a 10-minute role in Himesh Reshammiya's Aap Ka Suroor - The Real Love Story, which has been called a "vampish role".



Sherawat has been voted as one of Asia's 100 most beautiful people by the Hong Kong based fashion and beauty magazine, Cover.