Rakhi Sawant

Rakhi Sawant, born as Neeru Bheda on 25 November 1978 to Jaya Bheda in Mumbai.^[6][7][8][9] After Jaya married Anand Sawant, a police constable at Worli Police Station,^[10] Rakhi adopted the surname of her step-father, Anand Sawant.^[11] Her brother is named Rakesh Sawant, and she also has a sister named Usha Sawant.^[12][13]

Rakhi Sawant made her film debut in the 1997 film Agnichakra under the name Ruhi Sawant. She went on to change her name to Rakhi Sawant and then took other small roles and dance numbers in Bollywood films Joru Ka Ghulam, Jis Desh Mein Ganga Rehta Hain, and Yeh Raaste Hain Pyaar Ke.^[14]

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.^[15] Sawant acted in small roles in films including Masti and Main Hoon Na.

In 2004, she appeared in the music video "Pardesiya", from the album D.J. Hot Remix - Vol 3.^[16]

In June 2006, Mika Singh attempted to kiss her at his birthday party, which caused a media controversy.^[17] 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).^[18] 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.^[19] 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.^[20] After separation, she revealed in an interview that she got engaged to Elesh Parujanwala for money.^[21][22][23]

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.^[24] 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^{[citation needed]} and entry dance performance in 2015 with Ranveer Singh and Arjun Kapoor in Malaysia.^{[citation needed]}

In 2013, she participated in Welcome – Baazi Mehmaan Nawazi Ki along with Anchal Sabharwal, Sangram Singh, Chetan Hansraj and 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.^[25]

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.^[26]

Rakhi also participated in the fourth season of Bigg Boss Marathi as a wild card contestant and reached the finale, before deciding to walk-out with 10 lakhs, becoming the 4th Runner-Up of the show.^{[citation needed]}

On 26 March 2014, she announced her plans to contest 2014 Lok Sabha elections from Mumbai North-West as an independent candidate.^[27] On 28 March, she founded the Rashtriya Aam Party (RAP).^[28][29] The party has no symbol assigned by the election commission. However, Sawant said that she's expecting^[when?] it to be a "green chilli", which she feels resembles her personality.^[30] The party's office bearers and fundraisers are local businessmen from Oshiwara.^[30]

She received only 15 votes from the Mumbai North-West Constituency and lost her deposit.^[31][32]

Sawant resigned from the Rashtriya Aam Party and joined the RPI (Athawale) party in June 2014 and expressed her desire to work for dalits.^[33][34] Rakhi served as the party's state vice-president and president of the women's wing.^[35][36] She campaigned for the party in the 2016 Assam^[37] and 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.^[38]

In 2019, Sawant married an NRI man named Ritesh,^[39][40] which ended in divorce in early 2022. In May 2022, she married Adil Khan Durrani.^[41] They separated in February 2023.^[42]

In November 2018, during The Great Khali's Continental Wrestling Entertainment promotion, American female wrestler Rebel got involved in a dance battle against Sawant, during which Rebel grabbed her in a bear hug and threw her on her back. It injured Sawant's back and she fell unconscious. She was taken to a nearby hospital.^[43][44]

On 4 April 2017, she appeared in the Ludhiana court wearing a burqa for making objectionable remarks against Sage Valmiki, at which time she was accompanied by Indian National Congress, National co-ordinator Rahul Jogi (born on 21 August 1990), due to which she was severely criticized.^[45][46][47]

Sawant converted to Christianity in 2009.^[48][49] She later converted to Islam^[50][51] after marrying her boyfriend Adil Durrani.^[50] However, Adil denied^[52] the marriage at first, but soon, after some weeks, he accepted his marriage with Rakhi.^[53][54][55]

Sawant performed her first Umrah at Mecca in 2023.^[56][57] She made her second Umrah at Mecca in 2025.^[58] She has also sponsored Umrah trips for people and engaged in social upliftment initiatives in the Middle East.^[59]