Malaika Arora says she feels empowered doing item songs at 52: ‘They make me feel amazing; why would I be apologetic?’

Malaika Arora with Rashmika Mandanna in a still from the song 'Poison Baby'.

Actor Malaika Arora has long been associated with giving scintillating performances in Bollywood songs and has been part of some of the most beloved ‘item songs’ of the past 20 years. While her performance has garnered a lot of positive reaction, the actor has often faced trolling for it as well.  Malaika featured in two major music videos last year — one was for the Yo Yo Honey Singh song ‘Chillgum’, and the other was the song ‘Poison Baby’ from the Aditya Sarpotdar film Thamma. The music video also included Rashmika Mandanna, the female lead of the film.

In a recent interview, she addressed this phenomenon and said that she doesn’t see any reason for not accepting this ‘image’ of her and owning what she is doing with conviction.

The actor and entrepreneur appeared on The Namrata Zakaria Show on YouTube, where she discussed her career, personal life and everything in between. When asked about whether she now owns the image that is associated with her and the performances, she said, “Why not? Why do I need to tone it down or be apologetic about it? I mean, you get trolled for things, and many people say different things — but I don’t understand what the big deal is. Dance is an expression, enjoyed in its true glory and its true form. I feel truly blessed that I am able to do all this at 52; I must be doing something right.”

Malaika also added, “It is very, very empowering. It makes me feel amazing. As I have said before, I think that if women out there take it as an example or view it as something empowering or something for them that makes them feel good, then it’s a job well done.”

She has touched on the topic and the evolving nature of such songs on a previous occasion as well. While talking to THR India, Malaika argued that the space has now changed since her initial days and said, “Earlier, they were mostly about glamour and spectacle, often detached from a woman’s individuality. Today, filmmakers are more conscious… they integrate these numbers into stories with stronger character context. It’s less about being provocative and more about performance and presence. I see it as an evolution where women can own their space.”

Apart from the aforementioned song, Malaika has appeared in songs like ‘Anarkali’ from Housefull 2, ‘Munni Badnaam’ in Dabangg, ‘Hoth Rasiley’ in Welcome, Chaiyya Chaiyya’ from Dil Se, among many more.