While we have watched actresses turning into lawyers in films, an actress has recently turned into a lawyer in real life. Having completed her LLB from Rizvi Law College in Mumbai in November 2020, actress Malvika Sharma is now also a practicing junior lawyer in the Hyderabad High Court.
Of course, Malvika is delighted with the new tag she has of a junior lawyer.
“It’s an overwhelming feeling because being a lawyer is what I’ve been working towards for the last few years,” explains Malvika, who has got my license in January 2021 from the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa.
Incidentally, the actress would be soon giving her all-India examination later this year, she tells us. “I was supposed to give that exam in January but then I was promoting my film Red, and so I couldn’t,” says the actress.
Shot in her arm
Despite two films in her kitty, and those with top names in the industry, the most defining achievement in the Nela Ticket actress’s life appears to be her lawyer’s degree. For one, she says it made her more confident. “When I was holding my degree and license in my hand, it was a very emotional moment,” Malvika expresses.
What’s more, the confidence even rubbed off on her personality. “I started to become more positive; a Law degree gives crazy confidence, and it added a different dimension to my personality. Then, from the day I got my license I started feeling more liberated in ways I’ve never felt earlier,” she elaborates.
Not the one to stop at a bachelor’s degree, Malvika has even applied for admission into LLM from Mumbai University. Now, having cleared the entrance test for the Master’s, she is eyeing at a specialisation in criminology.
In-court appearances
While Malvika hasn’t yet argued a case in the High Court, the actress states that the experience of going to the court, understanding the cases and insights has been a great experience in itself.
“It is such a learning experience that I’ve understood it requires a lot of hard work to break down the details of a case. For starters, I’ve realised studying and practicing law are completely different from each other,” says the actress, adding that acquiring practical knowledge by dealing in live cases requires a lot of patience.
In fact, initially, she didn’t even understand most of the court jargon. “I had to either Google them or find out about them by calling up my lawyer friends,” she explains.
“I realised what we study is completely different from what we experience at work. We need to understand the terms to argue in the court of law. So also, while I’ve been making constant efforts to get used to the terminologies, my experience of being in the court as an intern has helped me a lot, too.”
Juggling a full life
Life, however, is getting a little tighter for the Red actress. For instance, even as she’s been preparing for her LLM on one side, she has been shooting for ad and commercials on the other.
“And I am practicing, so it’s just becoming hectic and I am having a tough time preparing for my LLM because of the time constraints,” says the actress, adding that if she were to get three days in a week, she’d prefer to use those to focus on her studies.
“In fact, after my graduation, I’ve understood what it is to be a lawyer.” Despite admitting the challenges of studying, shooting and practicing all at once, Malvika says she constantly strives to strike a balance between all of them.
“I’ve already started going to court and have been studying a few cases,” she explains, while thanking her senior, Advocate V Pattabhi for constantly supporting her and understanding the demands of the acting profession, especially when she has to rush out for an impromptu shooting assignment, leaving behind important details of a case.
Films first
So what are her plans? Have films taken a back seat? Does she plan to continue with her lawyer practice? “I am just going with the flow,” she replies matter-of-factly, but not before adding that a new title against her name hasn’t changed her perception of looking at scripts.
“I’ll always look at a script in the totality of a film. Moreover, I am still keen on being an actor because the kind of high I get being in front of the camera is inexplicable. You have a great opportunity to be someone else. In fact, acting has always been my first love and I’ll be a little partial towards acting,” she says.
And why not, we wonder, because as she tells us, it was acting that prompted her to get a lawyer’s degree in the first place.
