By Durga Chakravarty
Rakhi Sawant reveals she participated in Bigg Boss 14 even as she was going through a particularly painful phase in life. Although she was under stress, she fought back to entertain people, because her objective for participating in the show was to try and make a comeback in her career.
“I fought back. My personal life was also painful. My mother was unwell and she has been undergoing chemotherapy. There was stress in my personal life and I still entertained people. I had so much pressure and responsibility,” said Rakhi.
She did not shy away from talking about her personal life on national television. She shared shocking revelations about her life, claiming that a man had forced himself on her when she was young, in return of money. She spoke of her marriage with someone called Ritesh, saying that her husband was already married and had a child when they got married.
Does she regret revealing too much about her personal life in front of the country?
“When you live in the house, there is a time when you break. I broke down because I was going through a lot of pain. My mother’s pain, my love wasn’t successful, my marriage was not successful either. Somewhere, I would break down looking at a couple. I broke completely,” she said.
Rakhi said that she did text her “mystery” husband Ritesh once she was out of the house. “I messaged my husband. I haven’t spoken to him and I don’t know what reaction he would have,” she revealed.
On Sunday night, Rakhi walked away with Rs 14 lakh from Bigg Boss 14 during the grand finale. The dancer claimed that the reason she went to the controversial show was to try and make a comeback, because her career was down in recent times, and that the show has given her a second chance.
Rakhi was the first contestant to walk away with money on the grand finale night hosted by Salman Khan. She had entered the house in November lastyear as a challenger and had a journey of almost three months, which ended on Sunday night.
“The journey was very beautiful. So many people want to go to Bigg Boss and getting an entry is such a big thing. I wanted to make a comeback and my career was down. Bigg Boss gave me a second (chance)… Everyone goes through ups and downs and I got that push from here. I am so happy that I will be able to do something now… There were so many ups and downs in the Bigg Boss 14 house,” Rakhi told IANS.
Is she hoping for a comeback in Bollywood considering she was one of the most popular contestants in the show this season?
“Definitely. I would like to do a series. In fact I will do any work that comes my way. This is why I went to Bigg Boss — so that I could make a comeback and earn a lot of money. (I want to) Get my mother operated and keep her well,” Rakhi said.
During her stay in the house, Rakhi was seen as a threat by the other contestants courtesy her bizarre antics. She had several altercations with other housemates such as Jasmin Bhasin, Rubina Dilaik and Abhinav Shukla among others.
“I was very affected when my nose broke in the show. They broke my props’s head and threw water on me. But I controlled my anger in the show because then you’d have to leave the show. They taunted me, they spoke about my married life and said I was doing ‘nataunki’ and (that I was) ‘fake’. But I did not lose confidence.” she said.
Rakhi said that she sought support from Bigg Boss, show host Salman and contestants such as Devoleena Bhattacharjee.
She says she will remain friends with Rubina, who won the 14th season, and her husband Abhinav Shukla.
“I am very happy that Rubina won,” she concluded.
(Durga Chakravarty can be contacted at durga.c@ians.in)
