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Love her, hate her, but it is impossible to ignore her. Rakhi Sawant’s persona, some would say, has been carved out of controversies. This police constable’s daughter, began her career as a dancer in nightclubs, and came into limelight with the remix number Pardesiya. Bold and revealing dresses, vulgar and obscene gestures, and bindaas comments on all and sundry have been a boon as well as a bane for this struggling starlet, item girl and a participant in television reality shows. Rakhi Sawant, who was in the city yesterday, talks to NT, clad in a red and green salwar kameez, with heavy zardozi work and a dupatta to match, (she says she has been wearing this for the last four days). She waxes eloquent about the more serious issues of life, her career, and her desire to do social service.

Television changed my life
“Whatever success that I am seeing today is all thanks to television. Reality show Bigg Boss changed my life and took me into millions of homes where viewers saw me the way I am– honest, truthful and straightforward. I am now looking forward to the reality dance show, which will commence soon on television. I am rehearsing hard and am confident of doing well.”

It is important to sport a western look
“I am basically very Indian at heart. Ek sadharan Hindustani ladki hoon, but if you wish to be noticed today, you need to have a western look. Short dresses, the pout, light eyes and coloured hair get instant recognition in this industry. Only Ekta Kapoor can sell a sati savatri. This industry needs oomph. I had to market myself so I acquired a western look.”

I have removed all the silicon implants
“I have got all of them removed and I am feeling much ‘lighter’. I have to rehearse for the dance show, shake and dance a lot, and the weight of these implants was weighing me down. I got all of them removed, and there has been no change in the way I look. It doesn’t matter if you are not generously endowed, padding takes care of it all.”

Whatever I do or say creates controversy
“Main ek dum sach or saaf baat bolti hoon. Many people don’t like it, but I don’t care– I say the way it is. I don’t create controversies, they just happen around me. Of course all this has hurt me a lot. I sit before Ganapati Bappa and cry my heart out. But I have no grouse against anyone, I have forgiven everybody.”

Industry has noticed me
“Finally I have conquered the casting couch. I am still a struggling starlet, but now the bigwigs of the industry at least talk to me. They do not ask for sexual favours, give me work and even pay me for doing it. I am doing an item number for Rakesh Roshan’s Krazy 4, and I am eternally grateful to him for making me do such an aesthetically choreographed number. I am also doing Loot, for Suniel Shetty and have a good role in the film, Baltidevi, Queen of Southall, being directed by Aditya Kapoor.”

Change of Image
“It is impossible to change your image. I feel any effort to change over from being a sex bomb to goodie-goodie types– is foolish. I will continue to be the way I am
and will also continue doing items numbers, television shows and anything that is offered to me.”

I am wearing a lucky charm these days
“I am very superstitious, and pray a lot to Ganapati Bappa. My Guruji Hari Govind Tripathi guides me in all my projects. He has instructed me to wear a bracelet with nine planetary stones to win this dance competition, he got it made for me at an exorbitant prize of Rs 2 lakh, I will be wearing it all through the dance show, and even after that.”

I want to do social service
“I have special love for Nagpur because so many of my fans live here. I am aware of the farmers’ plight in this region and have also done an item number in a film made about the plight of the farmers of Vidarbha. I have decided, that I will donate a part of my earnings for the welfare of the farmers. I want to feed millions of poor children who sleep on an empty stomach. For this, I want to earn a lot of money.”

Item girl Rakhi Sawant, who has signed a new semi-autobiographical Broadway-style Bollywood musical called Balti Devi: Queen Of Southall, is looking for an image makeover. “If I want I can make people weep like Meena Kumari. I live in India and I do feel uncomfortable with my image sometimes. Whatever I’ve done so far is because the public demanded it. It’s the public that’s undressing me,” Rakhi said.

“Heroines send me SMS messages asking why I dress up the way I do. What right do they have to question me? Why can’t a nice clean film like Swami click? And why can’t I be cast in roles like Smita Patil? Even she did hot scenes,” she added.

Her much-touted stint in Buddha Mar Gaya died a quiet death. Talking about the film, she said: “I’m made to behave and dress in a certain way because of who I am. I was pulled up for making love with older men like Anupam Kherji, Om Puriji and Prem Chopraji in Buddha Mar Gaya. If I did the same with Shah Rukh Khan, people would applaud.”

Rakhi’s semi-autobiographical musical will be directed by the legendary Shammi Kapoor’s son Mickey Kapoor, who earlier made Sambar Salsa and Don’t Stop Dreaming.

Balti Devi is the story of a poor Southall girl who dances and sings her way to stardom. “It’s a story almost like Rakhi’s own. And she’s so perfect for the part. I couldn’t think of anyone else. Rakhi gets to sing and dance. She’s the male Govinda and this film showcases her aptitudes,” said Mickey.

All said and done, Rakhi loves media attention.

‘Sweat’ dreams are made of these! The huffing and panting rise of Rakhi Sawant from a routine item girl in longforgotten movies like Chura Liya Hai Tumne and Mumbai Express to a bourgeoise icon, is indeed one of the most favourite rags-to-riches stories in Bollywood today. Post her much-eyeballed presence in the reality show Bigg Boss, Rakhi suddenly catapulted to the status of a middle-class heroine who dared to grab her dreams with both her hands… and perhaps a little help from silicone implants. Excerpts from an interview with the bindaas babe.

Whats happening in your life right now?
I’m not supposed to tell you. But chalo, I can’t keep anything inside me. It’s Nach Baliye Part 3. Every time I enter the sets, the other contestants say they want their money back and drop out. Jahan pe Rakhi Sawant aur usska boyfriend hai, wahan unka koi chance nahin hai. Everyone feels I’m going to win. I feel good about winning. Am I over confident or are the other girls insecure?

Maybe they grudge you your success…
Do they know how hard I work? I’m up at 8 and I work like mad till 10 at night. I’m rehearsing day and night for the next five days for Nach Baliye… and look at my good fortune. Do you know I’ve been signed by Rakesh Roshanji to do an item song in Krazy 4? I had tears in my eyes when he called. I wept in front of God wondering what kind of a miracle this is.

But Rakesh Roshan has only given you an item song?
So what? It’s a big banner.

Did you ever dream of being mobbed like a big star?
Jee, maine bilkul socha tha. I always knew there was something very special about me. Imagine a girl who fought with her parents, fought with everyone in her life, who struggled for eight years to get where she wanted and finally forced God to smile on her destiny… you have to agree there has to be something special about me.

Your stardom is a freak case…
Lots of strugglers and aspirants get tired and give up the struggle. But I kept at it. I started by doing item songs and bit roles. Even if I earned Rs 2,500 per day I could sustain myself. I chose to do small roles instead of sitting at home. I wasn’t a star-daughter with a producerfather willing to gamble crores away on me. Nobody big came to sign me at the start. Nobody knew me.

Today for the promotional campaign of your new film you get mobbed the most, above stalwarts like Om Puri and Anupam Kher. Do you feel vindicated?
If that’s true, then I’m thankful to God. I’m the darling of the media. I’m media-made. They felt I spoke my heart, that I was bindaas. The media shows both my good deeds and bad deeds. Somewhere they feel I’ve got my act right.

Today your popularity equals any of the big stars…
True. Earlier I didn’t get any respect from within the industry. Now, it is done in a very grudging way. I’m considered a bechari. Please don’t feel sorry for me because I’m from a poor home. So what if I come from a modest background? So what if I didn’t have a father or a godfather to support me? I’m a self-made girl. I wanted to be successful on my own terms, no matter how bindaas I had to be to achieve this. In this industry no one gives you roti for nothing. One has to earn it.

Are the heroines nice to you?
Some are reluctant to acknowledge my stardom. But some like Rani, Bipasha and Ayesha Takia have been kind. Shilpa Shetty loves me like anything. She came to my set and sat there and watched me dance. She told me she was encouraged to go on Big Brother after watching me on Bigg Boss. But on the whole I’m not given the respect I deserve.

If you want to talk to Rakhi Sawant tighten your seat belts, the task isn’t that easy! It seems that beau Abhishek is her new PA. Want to know why? Well, he is not allowing anybody to talk to her. Rakhi is not taking any direct calls and her boyfriend is nowadays keeping her mobile phone with him. And if one needs to talk to her you need to explain the reason to Mr Awasthi first, so that your call can get transferred to the controversy queen. We guess it is his way of keeping controversies away from her.

While filming for the title track of Buddha Mar Gaya in Hyderabad, Rakhi Sawant almost burnt her derriere. The sequence required Rakhi to dance around a funeral pyre. While she was busy doing her moves, a ball of fire emerged out of the wooden pyre, and struck her on her butt, reducing the back of her skirt to ashes. The crew members and other actors panicked. However, the actress miraculously escaped without sustaining any burns.

Says director Rahul Rawail, “We were filming a song sequence in a graveyard dotted with pyres. The one that served as Rakhi’s stage was not supposed to be lit. But all of a sudden we saw a small ball of fire erupting. We panicked but fortunately she didn’t get hurt.”

The funeral pyre that served as the stage was surrounded by other flaming pyres. The pyres are usually lit up with the help of an in-built gas lines and a flame source. If sources are to be believed, an errant worker at the graveyard had switched on the pyre by mistake.

Adds Rawail, “We had asked workers at the graveyard to monitor these pyres. All other pyres, except the one where Rakhi was dancing, were supposed to be lit. One of those guys had lit this pyre too by mistake.”

However, Rakhi was far from being scared. She immediately slipped into another spare costume and resumed shooting. Later she went around on the sets flexing her muscles and unabashedly declaring, “Rakhi Sawant ko kuchh nahin ho sakta hai.”

Adds Rawail, “Well that’s Rakhi Sawant for you! She doesn’t get affected by anything.”

Just as we were discussing the flipside of aggressive PR exercises in Bollywood, Rakhi Sawant has gone ahead and proved the point in our favour. The actress has been going all out talking about her forthcoming film Buddha Mar Gaya. The point is that she has been projecting the film completely differently from what it actually is.
Apparently, Rakhi has been telling media persons that she is, in fact, the lead actress of the film. A source says, “Rahul Rawail panicked when he heard about one of Rakhi’s interviews. To begin with, Rakhi did not inform Rahul that she was talking about the film to a television channel. Rahul had warned the entire unit about not talking about the film yet Rakhi went ahead and gave an interview. His surprise knew no end when a writer told him about Rakhi’s bytes regarding the film. Rahul was very upset that time and this time he was simply shocked.”

When Rakhi revealed a madeup climax scene on national TV, Rahul Rawail got upset with her. He says, “Yes, I was very upset about an interview in Hyderabad, and this time too. Rakhi is a very honest person and very clean at heart, I do not know what prompted her to do this. She has a brilliant character in the film; she is not playing an item girl for once.”

However, later, Rahul takes a diplomatic stance and says, “I am not sure what’s she saying to news channels. She may have said something that was misinterpreted. She is a good girl.”

“Oh, are all these papers from Bangalore? Have my pictures appeared in them?” she says, spotting a pile of newspapers nearby. Having confirmed that most newspapers have carried front page news on her, a happy Rakhi Sawant proceeds to chat with us. The oomph gal was in the city to do an item number for the Kannada film Geleya with Prajwal Devraj. And Rakhi’s excited because it’s her first assignment down south. “Some of my favourite actors like Rajnikanth and Chiranjeevi come from here. And I’ve also heard a lot about Shivrajkumar - I want to work with him too,” she says.

Rakhi’s thrilled about the song she’s working on. “They’ve put up about eight sets and each one is larger than life. My costumes are also equally stunning - in one of them I’ve worn my favourite animal print outfit which is quite bold. But I’m not bothered - aaj kal sab expose karte hai,” she says matter-offactly. She adds that the item song has cost the producer Rs 50 lakh, including her remuneration. So how much has she actually charged them? “Rs 15 lakh! And they gave me a separate allowance for my costumes,” she says proudly.

And then she remembers it’s almost lunchtime and asks boyfriend Abhishek Awasthi - who doubles as her manager and escort - what he’s ordered for her. “Fish, prawns and chicken biryani,” he replies. “Make that veg biryani, aaj Sunday hai,” says Rakhi. But hasn’t she recently become an ambassador for PETA? “Hanh, lekin my duty was to tell people not to cage animals and kill them, especially in a circus. Main sab khati hoon,” she says frankly.

And what about her recent silicon implant surgery? “I don’t understand why people keep talking about my surgeries all the time. I haven’t got any kind of surgery done,” she says with irritation. Then, she relents to say, “Okay, I have got it done, so what? It’s my body, my money, why is it bothering others?”

But is she aware that people often take pot-shots at her, especially on TV shows? “Yes, I know, but I’m not bothered. Main bahut straightforward hoon. Take it or leave it, I don’t care.”

And she’s really happy she’s going places with her career. “I have lots of commercials, music albums and movies lined up, including Budda Mil Gaya with Om Puri and Paresh Rawal, and Lalu Ki Rabri directed by my brother. I play the solo heroine in both,” she says.

She regrets she didn’t get enough time to explore Bangalore. “I wanted to buy sarees, but no time. My surgeon is from Bangalore and she had told me how beautiful the city is,” she says.

And just then she gets a call from Mumbai - Abhishek says it’s from Sajid. “Hi Sajid tell me, how are you? Oh you aren’t Farah Khan’s brother Sajid Khan? Oh okay, it’s okay, tell me… what can I do for you?” she trails off.

When we spotted Rakhi Sawant at the premiere of Die Hard 4.0, we asked her to review the movie for us. She gave it a five-star rating. “What more can I say? I am a ‘die-hard’ fan of Bruce Willis, and there was no way I was going to miss this one. I had a shoot in Delhi the next morning but made it a point to attend the late-night premiere of the movie. And I wasn’t disappointed. I have loved all the previous films. They’ve always been better than the previous ones. this one is no exception. The sound quality is great, at every stage you get a jhatka (shock). It’s realistic and at the same time over the top. I’d love to do an action film like that - probably a movie directed by Sanjay Gupta, something like Lara Croft kind of action. I have also loved all the Rocky films. I am going to tell all my friends to watch this movie. After all it has the handsome Bruce Willis in it,” she gushes.

Rakhi Sawant is again in the eye of controversy. “Mika took advantage of our friendship and misbehaved with me at his birthday bash in Mumbai. He forcibly grabbed me on the dance floor and kissed me,” says Sawant. Even as Rakhi lodged a complaint with the police, Mika is alleging that it was Rakhi who come onto him. “I am an Indian woman. I will never allow a man to kiss me. A peck on the cheek is fine,” explains Rakhi.

And what is her take on the obscenity cases filed against her? “I am ready to dance in a saree or even a burqa to make the Maharashtra Police happy. They always seem to be having problems with me. But people should understand that I am a performer and I need to dress in what makes me feel comfortable.”

Then she comes to her favourite subject - herself. “Meri adayen alag hain. I am an item girl and when I do a stage show, I know people haven’t called me to worship me. I have no qualms in being tagged as an item girl. Probably, I would have been the right choice for Kajra re if Aishwarya Rai hadn’t done it. In fact, she should not do item numbers,” she asserts. Then, the lady goes on to compare herself with the other beauty queen-turned-actress, Sushmita Sen. “As far as my height and figure go, I am perfect. Had I been a little taller, Sushmita Sen and Shilpa Shetty would have had reasons to be unhappy” she asserts.