If you don't want to sleep at night...

Rakhi Sawant is no longer just an item girl. Following some good film projects and a TV chat show of her own which has featured several A-list celebs, Rakhi is now being taken seriously. We caught her in a fun mood. Excerpts from the conversation…


You are working in a horror film called 1920 and doing an item song in it.

See, I saw the film a week ago and I don't know whether you will believe me if I tell you that I haven't slept for two days and I didn't even go to the toilet because I was scared to be alone… ‘1920’ is a very scary movie.

When I first saw the posters of the film, I thought that it was just a love story but this film is less of a love story and more of a horror film. I am not going to bet with anyone asking them to go watch this film alone in a theatre and promise people that I will give them things like Rs 5 lakh or Rs 10 lakh.

I would definitely like to say that if you want to get scared and if you don't want to sleep at night then please don't miss this film because the lead pair has done a very good job.

Will you work in a horror film in the future?

Hmmm… that's a tough question to ask. To be very honest, when I first did the song I felt that I was playing the ghost in the film. (Laughs)…. No, I am just joking.

The heroine is so sweet and so innocent that she looks like Divya Bharati and I felt that she could not be the ghost for sure. So I asked director Vikram Bhatt as to why is he making such a sweet girl into a ghost. He told me, 'Rakhi you just wait and watch, there's a twist in the story'.

I am a very inquisitive person and I wanted to know the story and I asked him about it. But he did not tell me about it at all. But when I saw the film a week ago at a special screening, can you imagine that I was screaming and ranting in the theatre. I was literally falling off the chair with fear when we were watching the film.

Then music director Adnan Sami fell as he was watching the film. Then his wife fell once and then I fell and then the producer fell as well. I felt that the ghost of ‘1920’ had actually come out from the screen into the hall.

Very funny. Would you like to become a ghost in some film?

What kind of ghost? I would like to be a ghost like that of ‘1920’ because it's a love story.

Which is the scariest film you have seen?

I found the scariest film to be RGV's ‘Raat’ and now, of course, ‘1920’. Before I watched the film I was thinking that a ghost can come making scary faces but that's not it …

What do you think of Ramu's Phoonk? Have you seen it?

No. No time as yet.

Will you watch it?

Yes, of course, I'll watch it. I've watched ‘1920’. I love horror. When I watch horror films I become stronger (laughs).

What do you think of Ramu's challenge of paying 5 lakh to the person who sees the film alone in the theatre?

Recently I interviewed him on my TV show and asked him what is it in the film that makes him want to bribe the audience to lure them to the theatres.

I mean if you're so confident why do you have to offer that kind if money and he replied that he's not going to give the money to anyone. He's going to keep it with himself because he's the director and not the producer.

Why didn't Mallika Sherwat come on your TV show?

No comments.

There was once a scorpion on your waist.

Yes I had one there, but it’s not there anymore. It has now travelled down to my feet.

Is that why your song in 1920 is called Bichua (scorpion)?

The song is picturised on this dancer in Paratha Galli in Delhi of old times. It's a song on Bichua and as you can see there are Bichuas on my feet and Raju Khan has picturised this song very well. Jab das chadhae bichua, zeher chadhae bichua, bada tadpaye bichua, bachke tu rehna zara (she sings and dances for us).

Finally, why didn't Mallika Sherwat come on your TV show?

Mallika's very insecure that's why she doesn't want to come on my show. By the way Deepika Padukone, Vidya Balan, Shilpa Shetty and many of them have come for my show. Mallika is not as big as they are. So I feel she's insecure but God bless her. I don't think she has any need to be insecure. She's better than me and she should thank the audience and God for the success of her films instead of putting others down.

Why is Mallika insecure because of you?

It's best if you ask her that question.