Wedding will have to wait: Rakhi's Fiance

Instead of hosting a grand party following his win on Rakhi Ka Swayamvar, 30-year-old Elesh Parujanwala is busy arranging a Canadian visa for his fiancee Rakhi Sawant, so that they can attend his sister's wedding together in Toronto.

"I'm heading back to Toronto soon. As of now, I am busy trying to arrange a visa for Rakhi. My sister is getting married on August 16 and it would be really great if both of us would be there. It would be like twin celebration for my family," said Elesh, who was the only NRI contestant on the 'swayamvar'.

Last year Elesh set up an acting academy with his business partner in Kandivali, Mumbai. But soon Rakhi Ka Swayamvar came up and he decided to "probe into the real Rakhi Sawant" through the show.

"Nothing was planned about coming on the show. I guess, I happened to be at the right place at the right time -- that's all. Everyone had an opinion about her and I wanted to find out who she really is," said Elesh, a Gujarati settled in Toronto.

So what did he find out? "Rakhi aces all the categories that I ever wanted in my woman. She is simply genuine and I love that about her. When I saw her first, she looked stunning and gorgeous," he said.

Elesh, who was among 16 aspirants who came to court Rakhi on NDTV Imagine's reality show, says it feels "amazing" to have been chosen as the "ideal groom". But he wants to wait before he ties the nuptial knot with Rakhi.

"We have decided to spend sometime together off the camera and know each other better. We have gotten engaged as of now, but there's still time before we get married," he said.

And before the bride and groom do that, they need to brush up their English and Hindi language skills respectively. While Elesh manages to speak broken Hindi and a bit of Gujarati, Rakhi doesn't have a good grip on English.

Won't communicating be a problem? "I can understand a bit of Hindi. And I mix up the vocabulary a bit, besides stumbling upon certain words, I'll get a hang of it soon. As far as Rakhi is concerned, I can help her with her English -- she can help me with Hindi -- and it would be a team effort. Together, I think we would make a good 'Team Toronto'," he quipped.

Rakhi Sawant will get wed on August 2 in front of a live Audience

Rakhi Sawant has made up her mind. The item girl is all set to tie the knot with the NRI Gujarati boy Elesh Parujanwala and end her swayamvar.

A sources reveals that Rakhi's decision to commit to the shaadi was last minute, "She asked the channel heads options to have an exit strategy. However, after long meetings with the producers and channel officials, she decided to go ahead to the wedding, and honour her contract obligations."

Describing the elaborate wedding plans, an insider says, "Right now, they are preparing for the sangeet and mehendi shoot. The wedding will take place on August 2 at a suburban hotel and will be broadcast live on television. Rakhi will wear a Neeta Lulla ensemble while Elesh still has to decide what he will wear. Rakhi's mom and her family will be present during the shaadi as well. There are also plans to invite a couple of some Bollywood celebrities to the occasion." After the wedding, Rakhi plans to travel to Toronto to meet Elesh's family. "She has already got her Canadian visa and will be flying out with the groom after the shaadi. Elesh has already expressed an interest in purchasing property in Mumbai and settling here post marriage." Happy ending? We'll see. Rumour has it Another source maintains, "There will be no shaadi. In the twist, the dulha raja chosen by Rakhi will be given a choice of getting married to Rakhi, or accepting a cash booty and walking away. It is believed that Elesh will opt for the cash. It has all been decided. And Rakhi will walk away with the sympathy."

Rakhi Sawant to rely on fans for Selecting her Mr Right

When it comes to marriage, people either trust their parents and friends or simply follow their heart but Rakhi Sawant is relying on her fans to select her "Mr Right" in the reality TV show "Rakhi Ka Swayamvar".

The actress, who is known for her item numbers in Bollywood, says her fans will play a crucial role in the all-important decision-making process.

"I started off as a nobody in the industry. But today, whatever I am, it is because of my fans and I want them to be a part of this important decision of my life. Although I will take the final call, my fans and friends from the industry would be a constant guide for me to select the right person," Rakhi said in an interview.

Television viewers will also participate in television reality show 'Rakhi ka Swayamvar', where the actress goes on a groom-hunting mission. The audience would get the opportunity to vote for or against the prospective 16 bridegrooms, who have been shortlisted from thousands of applicants.

"My life has always been an open book. 'Swayamvar' is part of our tradition and culture, girls in those days got the opportunity to choose their life partner so why not now," she said when asked what made her go after searching a life-partner on the small-screen.

Rakhi Sawant to Look like Aishwarya Rai

Rakhi Sawant is dreaming to have a wedding like Aishwarya Rai and wishes to become like Aishwarya Rai on her wedding day – the grand finale of Rakhi Ka Swyamwar.

Rakhi’s wedding attire is being designed by the same designer who designed Aishwarya’s wedding trousseau – Neeta Lulla and her jewelery designer is Zayed Khan’s famous jewellery designer sister Farah Khan.

Neeta says, “Rakhi told us she wants to look like a princess that day – something like she has never looked before. I have given her a very colourful ensemble – it’s a very conservative outfit.For her wedding day, Rakhi would be wearing a lehenga-choli in five different colours with ornate kundan work to give her an ethnic Rajasthani look.”

Farah says,”The choker that Rakhi will be wearing for her wedding day is very heavy. It looks very traditional and covers almost her entire neck.”

Rakhi is apparently going to wear a necklace worth whooping Rs 30 million on her wedding day.

Rakhi to wear Rs.3 mn Necklace on 'swayamvar' D-day

Rakhi Sawant surely couldn't have asked for more. A Rs.30 lakh (Rs. 3 million) necklace designed by Farah Ali Khan, a lehenga-choli wedding dress by celebrity designer Neeta Lulla, a 'swayamvar' on national television and a grand wedding to be watched by millions across the country. The former 'item girl', who has had a rags-to-riches career, will marry on NDTV Imagine's reality show "Rakhi Ka Swayamvar" soon. She will choose her "perfect man" from among nine grooms who have come from cities like New Delhi, Mumbai, Rishikesh, Jaipur and Kanpur and even from places as far off as Toronto. National award winning designer Neeta Lulla, who is one of Aishwarya Rai's favourite designers, and ace jewellery designer Farah Khan Ali have been roped in to help Rakhi look her best on her D-day. And the two are doing every bit they can to fulfil the bride-to-be's wish to look like a "princess" that special day. "Rakhi told us she wants to look like a princess that day - something like she has never looked before. I have given her a very colourful ensemble - it's a very conservative outfit," Lulla told media over phone from Mumbai. "For her wedding day, Rakhi would be wearing a lehenga-choli in five different colours with ornate kundan work to give her an ethnic Rajasthani look," said Lulla, who has designed Aishwarya's clothes in movies like "Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam", "Devdas" and more recently "Jodhaa Akbar". To complement her outfit, Rakhi will be donning traditional Indian jadau jewellery designed by Farah Ali Khan, the daughter of yesteryears actor Sanjay Khan and well-known interior designer Zarine Khan. "The choker that Rakhi will be wearing for her wedding day is very heavy. It looks very traditional and covers almost her entire neck," she said. According to Khan, the choker costs approximately Rs.3 million. However, Lulla has refused to divulge the price tag of her outfit. The two designers are not only putting their creative instincts together for Rakhi's wedding day but also for the sangeet and mehendi (pre-wedding) ceremonies. For the sangeet, Rakhi decided to opt for an Indo-Western look in blue. Lulla says it is a very contemporary outfit. To match the dress, Khan has given her an elaborate diamond neck piece, which also costs around Rs.3 million. If both the designers are to be believed, Rakhi was extremely "accomodating" to their suggestions but gave her inputs as well. "Rakhi told me that her earrings shouldn't be very heavy so that she can dance freely. She also said that I should design ornaments which don't break," said Khan. If this wasn't enough, model-turned-fashion co-ordinator Marc Robinson has also been roped in to groom Rakhi's prospective grooms, who are vying to marry the former item girl through the reality show. Rakhi's wedding will take place as soon as she zeroes in on an eligible bachelor for herself on NDTV Imagine's show "Rakhi Ka Swayamvar" - a move that has left a lot of people in tinsel town shocked. (IANS)

Want To kiss Rakhi?

Rakhi Sawant is on a kissing spree. Fans have received over two million kisses from the firebrand actress over the last few days. But in the virtual world.

According to an online gaming portal that has launched a game on the lines of her new television serial, 'Swayamwar', over one lakh fans have hit the website within the first week of its launch. And many among the players have managed to impress the item queen.

The game features Rakhi standing in her balcony and throwing objects at the gamer.

If you are lucky, you will get hearts, kisses and rings. If not, you'll get belan, brooms, eggs or even garbage bags.

Love objects

The more love objects a gamer collects, the higher is his chance to win Rakhi's hand.

"This is not the first time a website has come up with a game based on a television serial but no one else has attracted such a huge traffic.

As the show is youth oriented, the site has received a good response," said Arun Mehra, chief marketing officer of Zapak Digital Entertainment, the brand behind the game.

"While only 16 prospective bridegrooms will get to compete for Rakhi's attention on television, lakhs of users are fighting it out for her on our portal," added Mehra.

Rakhi Wants to be like Draupadi

Bollywood's item queen, who is more popular for her bold attitude, than her acting skills, has always grabbed media attention with her spicy statements.

Rakhi recently made headlines with her decision to choose her life partner through a reality show. Now the spice girl has come up with a new mind-boggling statement, that she wishes to become a modern day Draupadi by marrying all 16 of the contenders.

"Like Draupadi in Mahabharata, I want to marry all 16 of the contestants because all of them are great people," said Rakhi during a press conference.

The mirchi girl doesn't have any favourites among the 16 men competing for her. But she is truly loving the whole experience of getting married.

Bollywood's Rakhi Sawant takes search for a husband to Prime time TV

A reality television show based on ancient Hindu rituals is aiming to strike a blow against India’s tradition of arranged marriages.

Rakhi Sawant, a Bollywood dancer, actress and television host, has refused a union brokered by her parents. Instead, she has promised to find the perfect man herself — with the aid of a prime time TV series.

Rakhi Ka Swayamvar (Rakhi’s Search for a Husband) has attracted more than 12,500 aspirant grooms from across the subcontinent. The show is due to begin later this month but the outspoken celebrity’s promise to marry on air has already whipped up controversy in what remains a rigidly conservative country.

The show’s producers admit to being shocked when Ms Sawant first pitched the idea for the show — but they deny being part of a stunt designed purely to win ratings.

Rather, they insist, the message is one of female empowerment.

The series will be based on the ancient but now largely neglected practice of swayamvara, where a young woman picks a husband for herself from a group of hopeful suitors, often by putting them through a series of tests.

The most famous example appears in the Ramayana, the 2,500-year-old Sanskrit epic, with Ram, the Hindu god, chosen as a husband by the heroine Sita after he wins a trial of strength by bending the bow of Lord Shiva.

A recent survey by the International Institute for Population Sciences found that 95 per cent of marriages in India today are arranged by the families of the bride and groom. More than 70 per cent of married women between the ages of 15 and 24 said that they were never asked their views on their future husband before their wedding. About a quarter said that their first sexual experience within marriage was forced.

“Over the past 500 years girls in India have lost the right to ask questions about who they marry,” Shailja Kejriwal of NDTV Imagine, the channel that has created Rakhi Ka Swayamvar, said. “I really hope this series, which is all about a strong woman choosing her own husband, will address that. It’s about empowerment.”

Conservative Hindus, who have vehemently opposed the infiltration of Western cultural ideas into India, are almost certain to object.

A spokesman for the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, India’s most powerful hardline Hindu group, made plain his disapproval of the series. “We prefer arranged marriages,” he told The Times. “They are part of an old and good tradition.”

For her part, 30-year-old Ms Sawant has said that she is looking for a husband who combines the best attributes of Aamir Khan, Salman Khan and Shahrukh Khan — three hugely wealthy Bollywood superstars.

The producers admit that it probably rules out the thousands of would-be husbands who have applied to appear on the show from India’s poor rural villages.

“We have to be realistic,” Ms Kejriwal said. “The series will look for a compatible husband. I can’t see a celebrity like Rakhi marrying somebody from a village. That would be foolish.” The series’ creators are keeping the details of the selection methods secret, but say that they will be adapted from “ancient Vedic practices” — similar to those outlined in the Ramayana.

The audience will be asked to vote for a winner, but Ms Sawant will make the final decision on whom she marries, helped by friends, family and a psychologist. Contestants are now being vetted, with background checks being run on each man’s health and wealth.

Explaining how the idea came to her, Ms Sawant said: “I am a cultured Indian woman with good values and I have reached a stage where I need a companion with whom I can share my love, joys, sorrows and success.

“I want to solemnise my marriage in the presence of all my fans who have been supportive of me throughout — and what better way than getting married on national television?”

Rakhi wants to be a better bahu than Tulsi

Defying all expectations, Rakhi Sawant managed a whopping 12,000 plus proposals for marriage through the upcoming show Rakhi Ka Swayamvar.

Doctors, lawyers, NRIs and people from all walks of life want to marry Rakhi, and she determined to be a great wife.

So what is Rakhi Sawant's definition of a good wife?

Firstly, for Rakhi, Tulsi (character played by Smriti Irani in Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi) was the ultimate wife and she told reporters that she wants to be a better wife than even her.

It seems, however, that Rakhi's idea of Tulsi is quite different from the way Ekta Kapoor envisioned her on her show.

Rakhi makes it very clear that her husband won't fare well with her if he expects her to do daily household work like washing the dishes and cooking and basically remaining within the four walls of the house. Any man who has such expectations will not be considered worthy by Rakhi, whose swayamvar is about to begin in a few days.

Rakhi also candidly declared that she will never give up her work because of marriage. In her words, she will 'continue to expose and act.'

Now coming to kids, the other staple expectation of married women, Rakhi says that she wants to have kids, but not immediately, because as of now, she thinks of herself as a pretty young thing, not ready to look after children.

Rakhi's self-image is at an all-time high. She told reporters that she is better than the likes of 'the Mallika Sherawats of the world', and that she is the golden girl of Bollywood.

Will Rakhi make for a Good wife?

Salman Khan might be the brat of the film industry, and may have an iffy reputation as far as women are concerned. But he stood up for Rakhi Sawant on his show 10 Ka Dum, and Mika Singh was taken aback by Salman's interest in women's lip… er, lib.

A source from the sets said, "Daler Mehendi and Mika have been roped in for an episode of 10 Ka Dum. They were asked: how many people think that Rakhi Sawant can be a good wife? Salman asked his guests for their opinion. Mika, who has an ugly history with Rakhi, made faces and rude comments about her. Salman is known to stand up for women and told him that he should not make fun of her. Salman said that he is aware how hard Rakhi has worked to be where she is. He also said that he has tremendous respect for her.”Mika had the cheek to say that he agrees that she has worked hard, but she has become popular only because of him. Salman waved that statement aside and reasserted that she is a hard-working girl and deserves all her success. Finally, when Mika said that Rakhi is his friend, Salman laughed off his comment by saying that Mika is the biggest liar.

A spokesperson from the channel confirmed the incident.