Mallika's royal connection

Mallika Sherawat’s ‘Hisss’ has an actual royal starring in it. Her Royal Highness Princess Lakshmi Bai of Travencore is part of the movie!

“Akka” as she is affectionately called by close friends and family, met 'Hisss' diector Jennifer Lynch through family friend Govind Menon, a producer of the film, and has known Mallika for the past few years.

When the director was casting for the role of Divya Dutta’s character's mother (Irrfan Khan’s character's mother-in-law) for the film, she set her sights on the princess, “discovered” her, and offered her the role.

Initially, the Princess refused and Jennifer had to practically beg her to be in the movie. After much convincing and cajoling, she finally changed her mind.

It seems that the role is a crucial one, with intensely dramatic scenes alongside Irrfan. “Akka” also provides a healthy amount of comic relief in the film, and her character’s storyline is crucial to the plot.