Rakhi Sawant

Rakhi Sawant (also known as Fatima Durrani; born Neeru Bheda; 25 November 1978 ) is an Indian dancer, model, actress and television talk show host, who has appeared in many Hindi and a few Kannada, Marathi, Odia, Telugu and Tamil films.

Rakhi Sawant, born as Neeru Bheda on November 25, 1978 to Jaya Bheda in Mumbai.

After Jaya married Anand Sawant, a police constable at Worli Police Station, Rakhi adopted the surname of her step-father, Anand Sawant.

Sawant debuted in the film Agnichakra, using the name Ruhi Sawant, before eventually adopting the name Rakhi Sawant.

Her brother is named Rakesh Sawant, and she also has a sister named Usha Sawant.

She made her film debut in the 1997 film Agnichakra under the name Ruhi Sawant.

She went on to other small roles and dance numbers in Bollywood films Joru Ka Ghulam, Jis Desh Mein Ganga Rehta Hain, and Yeh Raaste Hain Pyaar Ke.

In 2003, she auditioned for an item number in the Bollywood film Chura Liyaa Hai Tumne.

She auditioned about four times before being selected for her breakthrough item number, "Mohabbat Hai Mirchi", composed by Himesh Reshammiya.

Sawant acted in small roles in films including Masti and Main Hoon Na.

In 2005, she appeared in the music video "Pardesiya", from the album D.J. Hot Remix - Vol 3.

She was a contestant on the first season of the Indian reality television series Bigg Boss 1 (2006) and a challenger and finalist in Bigg Boss 14 (2020).

She was the prospective bride in Season 1 of the Swayamvar TV series.

Sawant has established herself as a sex symbol in Bollywood.

In June 2006, Mika Singh attempted to kiss her at his birthday party, which caused a media controversy.

A few months later, she appeared in the first season of the reality show Bigg Boss.

She got evicted in week 4 but later made a re-entry.

She was among the top four finalists but got evicted days before the grand finale (24 January 2007, Day 84).

In 2007, Rakhi made her singing debut in the album Super Girl launched by Venus Records & Tapes Pvt. Ltd. She later participated in the dance reality show Nach Baliye with Abhishek Avasthi and emerged as the first runner up.

In 2008, Sawant appeared in the film Krazzy 4 for the item song 'Dekhta Hai Tu Kya'.

In 2009, Sawant launched the reality show Rakhi Ka Swayamwar in which she planned to select her future husband by the ancient ritual of Swayamvar.

On 2 August 2009 she chose her life partner, a contestant from Toronto, Canada, Elesh Parujanwala.

However, several months later, Sawant announced that the couple had separated due to irreconcilable differences.

After separation she said on interview that she got engaged to Elesh Parujanwala for money.

In 2010, Rakhi hosted a talk show Rakhi Ka Insaaf which aired on Imagine TV.

The show saw a controversy after the death of a participant after Rakhi had called him impotent.

In 2011, she participated in Sony TV's Maa Exchange along with mother Jaya Sawant.

Often appearing in reality shows as a host, judge or participant, Sawant is a regular stage performer.

In 2012, she did a comedy act with Shahrukh Khan and Ranbir Kapoor at the 57th Filmfare Awards and entry dance performance in 2015 with Ranveer Singh and Arjun Kapoor in Malaysia.

In 2013, she participated in Welcome – Baazi Mehmaan Nawazi Ki along with Anchal Sabharwal, Sangram Singh, Chetan Hansraj & Madhura Naik.

The show aired on Life OK.

She later was a contestant on Box Cricket League.

Sawant later played the leading role in thriller film Ek Kahani Julie Ki, and was seen in a cameo appearance in comedy fiction television series Bhaag Bakool Bhaag.

Sawant launched her own political party, headed by Jai Shah, called the Rashtriya Aam Party, to contest the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections.

However, after the election, she joined Republican Party of India (A).

On 26 March 2014, she announced her plans to contest 2014 Lok Sabha elections from Mumbai North-West as an Independent Candidate.

On 28 March, she founded the Rashtriya Aam Party (RAP).

The party has no symbol assigned by the election commission.

From 2020 to 2021, Sawant appeared as a challenger in Bigg Boss 14.

She emerged as a finalist but decided to walk out, opting for the cash prize of 14 lakhs.