Mallika is the daughter of reputed dancer Mrinalini Sarabhai and renowned scientist Vikram Sarabhai. She started to learn dancing when she was quite young and started her film career in parallel, when she was just 15. Mallika played the role of Draupadi in the Peter Brooke's movie Mahabharata.
Mallika has won many accolades during her long career, the French Palme d'Or being one of them, which she won for the Best Soloist Artist
She is very keen social activist as well. She, along with her mother, manages the Darpana Academy of Performing Arts located at Ahmedabad.