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Mallika Sherawat on CNN’s ‘Talk Asia’
This weekend on Talk Asia, Lorraine Hahn speaks with India’s Bollywood bombshell Mallika Sherawat, an actress best known amongst fans for her bold attitude, on-screen kisses and steamy scenes. Her latest role sees her alongside Hong Kong action star Jackie Chan in ‘The Myth’, a movie that boasts an international cast and was screened at the Cannes film festival earlier this year.
When asked about her role in the adventure epic, ‘The Myth’ and how she got her first international project, Mallika said, “Working with the most famous Chinese on this planet- Jackie Chan, and also, I was looking out for an international project and when I got a call from a production house in Bombay, saying that Stanley Tong, the director of the movie is in town, and we’re looking for a fresh face opposite Jackie Chan, would you mind auditioning, you know? So I was like, yes, I don’t mind auditioning at all. I went and I met him, there was a little audition, he asked me a couple of questions and then after a month they told me, yes, you’re on for the movie. It was, it’s a big challenge. It was because I had to do all the stunts on my own, I got bruised, I cried, I howled, I complained, I fought with Jackie but it all worked out beautifully in the end.”
Answering her critics about using sex appeal instead of talent to get to where she is now, she said, “Jackie Chan used his kung-fu skills to reach where he is, Arnold Schwarzenegger used his muscles to reach where he is. Every actor uses his or her own unique selling point to establish herself and if I used my sex appeal, what’s wrong in it?”
“I see criticism as a side-effect of what I do, what I’m really interested in is doing good cinema, sourcing good scripts, working with competitive and challenging directors with good co-stars… I’m not concerned with all these sexy images or what people say, what critics say. It’s not important to me at all,” she added.
The actress also talks about coming from Haryana – a town where women are treated as inferior; her brother – a pillar of strength for her in almost all her decisions; her childhood; relationship with her parents; and the secret behind her famous figure. Stay tuned to CNN’s Talk Asia this weekend for much more.
Talk Asia’s conversation with Mallika Sherawat is part of Eye On India, a special week of programming dedicated to the world’s biggest democracy.
AIRTIMES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE
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Network18 Q4 revenue grows 9.7 per cent, EBITDA at Rs 30 crore
PAT improves to Rs 306.6 crore, margins steady amid cost pressures.
MUMBAI: Not all news is breaking, some of it is quietly improving. Network18 Media & Investments Limited appears to be doing just that, tightening losses and stabilising margins even as costs continue to weigh on the business. For FY26, the company reported revenue from operations of Rs 1,955.1 crore, up from Rs 1,896.2 crore in FY25, signalling modest top-line growth in a challenging media environment. Total income stood at Rs 1,978.2 crore, compared to Rs 1,913 crore a year earlier.
Profit after tax came in at Rs 306.6 crore for the year, a sharp turnaround from Rs 3,225.4 crore in FY25, largely reflecting the absence of large exceptional items that had inflated the previous year’s numbers. On a more comparable basis, the company’s operating performance showed signs of gradual stabilisation.
However, the quarterly picture remained under pressure. For the March quarter, Network18 reported a loss of Rs 53.1 crore, narrower than the Rs 98.1 crore loss in the same period last year, but still indicative of ongoing cost challenges.
Expenses continued to track high. Total expenses for FY26 stood at Rs 2,235.7 crore, up from Rs 2,197.8 crore in FY25. Key cost heads included operational expenses of Rs 765.9 crore, employee benefits of Rs 475.9 crore, and marketing, distribution and promotional spends of Rs 427.1 crore, underlining the continued investment required to sustain reach and engagement.
At an operating level, margins remained under strain. Operating margin stood at 2.33 per cent for FY26, marginally higher than 1.77 per cent in FY25, while net profit margin remained negative at -13.02 per cent, though improved from -14.89 per cent.
On the balance sheet, total assets rose to Rs 8,957.6 crore as of 31 March 2026, from Rs 8,317.5 crore a year earlier. Equity strengthened to Rs 4,958.7 crore, while borrowings increased to Rs 3,112.8 crore, reflecting a higher reliance on debt to support operations.
Cash flows told a mixed story. While financing activities generated Rs 83.9 crore, operating cash flow remained negative at Rs -24 crore, highlighting ongoing pressure on core cash generation. Cash and cash equivalents, however, improved to Rs 33.9 crore from Rs 1.8 crore.
The numbers point to a company in transition growing revenues, trimming losses, but still grappling with structural cost pressures. In a sector where scale often comes at a price, Network18 seems to be inching towards balance, one quarter at a time.
