Malaika Arora says her OTT debut Moving In With Malaika isn’t ‘staged or scripted’, reveals being judged would earlier make her cry

Malaika Arora is ready to open the doors of her house— and heart. Malaika, who will be seen making her OTT debut with the show Moving In With Malaika, says the show will dive into aspects of her life which would make viewers see her “in a different avatar.” The 16-episode Disney+ Hotstar series promises to give fans access to her “past, present, and future through unfiltered conversations.” Over brunch with select media on Friday, Malaika opened up about why she felt like taking a plunge into the reality show world.

“It was a fun idea and a great concept. The teaser promo is quite self explanatory and it’s also a space that I’ve never dabbled with. I have dabbled with so much over the years and if I don’t throw myself into the deep end and try something new, then I’ll become comfortable. I wanted to take myself out of the comfort zone and do something new,” she said.

Malaika said the show, which begins streaming from December 5, will drop four episodes every week. She insists that the series will offer viewers an insight into her life but nothing will be ‘scripted’.

“The show is not staged, it’s not scripted so to speak. It’s about being yourself. Situations in the course of the show will be thought about. I’ll obviously give my inputs, in the sense that today we shall do this, we shall do that from the bucket list that I have. You’ll have to be as real as possible.

“It’s not a follow reality, not following me 24 x 7. There are situations in my life… Going through everyday beats of my life that we will be capturing, some of it could be in my personal space, public space, travel. It’s not just me in the house,” she added.

Moving In With Malaika gives her the opportunity to address issues which she grapples with privately, from being trolled to being judged. “There are a lot of things I want to put out which are close to my heart but we don’t speak about it. Half the time you feel, ‘Oh just let it be, nothing will come out of it.’

“I want to speak about things close to my heart, whether it’s trolling or being judged on a daily basis for the choices you make, don’t make, the way you are, your age. I’m not being preachy. We are approaching these topics in a fun, interesting way. It’s relatable.”

The constant scrutiny and judgement, Malaika said, bothers her on some days but she has learnt a way out to deal with it: by surrounding herself with a strong protective layer, which cushions her from unwarranted, personal attacks. “I’ve kind of insulated myself now, I’ve hardened up. I don’t take it to heart. Earlier I did, it bothered me a lot but now I’ve my protective layer around me which doesn’t let it get to me. But I’m human so there are days when it really bothers and days when I’m not bothered.

“My coping mechanism (on days when I was affected) was… I’d like to process it— sit, think about it, ‘Why did it happen, why me?’ you kind of question all these things. Besides this you’ve your friends and family who are there to buffer things and make you feel better. But at the end of the day, nothing like a good cry. It’s therapeutic, I’ve done it many a times and sometimes for the most stupid and silly reason but it helps me,” she added.

Produced by Banijay Asia, Moving In With Malaika will also see guest appearances from her friends and family.