Dancing on Mallika's tunes

"In a bikini, I look like hot chocolate fudge. So I thought, let me see, what it's like to be a judge." You can't ignore Mallika Sherawat when she starts talking.

And this time was no different. Dressed in a flaming red dress and speaking pleasantries in her devil-may-care style, Mallika made sure we were all ears.

Obviously in a chatty mood, Mallika spoke to CS about Chak Dhoom Dhoom, a dance reality show that she's now judging, and her love for dance:

Dance with me
They say, dance like no one is watching you, and that is exactly what I do. I might not know about these fancy forms like Bboying, etc, but whenever I'm on the dance floor, I feel good about myself. It's a form of exercise and meditation for me.

And it is such an important part of our Indian culture. I can't imagine Bollywood without its song-and-dance routines.

In fact, when I'm in Hollywood, everyone keeps asking me about how we manage to seamlessly incorporate dance in our films.

That's now come to become our identity. And there are so many different forms of dances that you get to see in Indian films. Do you want to know what's my favourite dance style? It's belly dance's big sister, talli dance (reminding us of her hit number Talli, Mein Talli).

Talent hunt
It is very heartening to see so many platforms that recognise talent. In my time, this wasn't the case. I never had a rich boyfriend who would make me famous or a godfather who would give me a ticket to Bollywood. I had to come up on my own and it wasn't easy, to say the least.

I remember, I would stand in endless queues just to make it for an audition. And the line would be studded with beautiful, talented girls and I felt so insecure about myself. Every single day brought with it a set of challenges and I confess that I found myself lacking in self-esteem and confidence during that phase of my life.

Because I'm worth it...
But I do believe that talent does surface in the end, and that is what I tell impressionable youngsters who are trying to earn a name for themselves.

My career has taught me various lessons, but the most important one has been to believe in myself. If I don't, no one else will. And if I want to keep my chin up, I better know my worth.

Who: Mallika Sherawat
What: Talks about her love for dance