Tell us something about Moving in with Malaika.
To kind of break the clutter, the show is a little different. It’s not like a reality show. It’s not like they’re following me 24/7. But there’s a lot of stuff that you can expect to see on the show, a lot of interesting aspects of my life. And I think people also want to know a lot of things as to how one goes about it, whether it’s how I stay fit, or what I eat, how I work out… all of that, plus, there’s a lot of things which I want to put out there. For example, a bucket list of mine that I really do want to showcase. I mean that everybody has a bucket list in life, right? And I really do want to be part of that bucket list and actually do these things and how I go about it in my daily life. A glimpse into all of this, it’s basically a glimpse into various aspects of my life.
So when the show was pitched to you, I’m pretty sure you must have had some reservations…
I had said no initially, in the sense, I needed to think about it, because it’s not something that I want to do at this point. But then eventually, we came upon a lot of commonalities, that this is what we can do and can’t do. And that’s when we could actually come up with a space which was comfortable with me. That’s when we could go ahead.
When you partake in a reality show about revealing your private life, do you have to draw a line between what you can share publicly and what is private?
Yeah, I have a line. There are certain things which I will reveal about my private life, but a lot of things which are still off of the table. And I’m not comfortable with a couple of things, but there are things that I want to put out. There the lot of things which I feel absolutely comfortable sharing. So yes, it’s a fine line, and a balance that one has to actually create.
I’m pretty sure your family and friends will be a part of the show. So when you broke this news to them, how did they react?
Well, everybody is excited. Some have apprehensions. Everybody has a little bit of how do we go about it, but by and large, everybody’s super excited to be part of it.
There is a similar kind of show in the West, it’s called Keeping Up With The Kardashians.
Keeping up with the Kardashians, the name of the show sells itself. This show is about moving in with me. So it’s literally just me and how I go about my life.
In the trailer, you made a pertinent point against the trolls. How much will Moving In With Malaika be your effort to do troll busting?
That’s something which was very much a part of the narrative of the show. Because I think people have perceptions because of the trolls that you see. I mean, that’s how perceptions are built. And I think I want to bust those perceptions and those myths because eventually, people believe what is put out there.
So you’re not afraid of the trolls. Have their negativity and jibes ever bothered you?
Certainly not. I think I am today’s woman, I think I’ve had enough and more of my share of experiences in life, and been through my fair share of ups and downs. I’m pretty badass that way. So I don’t think I’m somebody who just sits around, taking hit after hit. I’m not one of those. If somebody punches me, I punch back, I probably punch back so hard that they may not be able to recover from it. So that’s probably the kind of woman that I am. I don’t really take things lying down. I will call a spade a spade. And I think that’s what it is. And I think today’s women should be able to stand up and say the things that you feel strongly about and show that it’s fine. It’s fine to be, to find, to live the life that I am. I mean in today’s day and age, divorced women, single parents, etc, are actually looked down upon and it’s not really very… you know, when I say looked down upon there’s always a lot of criticism. There’s someone or the other having some sort of comment and I think we need to change that. And then I want to change if I can, in my own little bit.
Most of the criticism and comment is about your fashion sense…
People criticise everything right from my choices, my fashion choices, or my lifestyle choices, how I go about it, my age, all of it. I am heavily, heavily trolled. So yes, those are exactly the things that I want to address and how I address it. Not that you have to watch the show. I don’t think it’s a preachy show. I’m not doing a chat show over here. It’s a very different take on things. So yeah, we don’t want to be preachy. We want to have fun. We want to enjoy, we want to have a great ride together. That’s what it is.
