MTV India, recognizing her potential gave her prominent roles at Awards Functions and concerts telecast on the television channel. From there, she expanded her career into the modeling world. Her modeling and TV careers are going strong. At one point she was romantically linked to John Abraham. Malaika has appeared in numerous advertisements. She can also be seen in various item numbers or song and dance sequences, such as Chaiyya Chaiyya in the film Dil Se and Maahi Ve in Kaante. She has since then focused on her career as a model and television anchor. In 2005, she did another item number: Kaal Dhamaal in the movie Kaal.
