Bollywood Zone : Blog, Movies, Celebs

“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.