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Item girls rally around Negar
Bollywood's dancing divas have set professional rivalry aside to voice support for Negar Khan. Pics
Hot Steppers of the world unite. Bollywood's dancing divas have set professional rivalry aside to voice support for Negar Khan, who was deported for allegedly violating her visa terms.
Contrary to speculations in the media that the FRRO's action against Negar was prompted by complaints from disgruntled rivals in the film industry, there seems to be a lot of sympathy for the bum-squeezing angel.
"Negar became too famous too soon. Anybody in her shoes would have wanted to stay back. It's possible that she didn't get the time to apply for a work visa or get her papers in order. At her position I am sure she would have been dealing with too many things to get it right," says Mumait Khan, the Dekh Le girl from Sanjay-Dutt's blockbuster Munnabhai MBBS.
The dusky beauty blames bad timing for Negar's predicament: "I don't think she saw it coming. If I understand Negar's case correctly, she may have come to India on a tourist visa to try her luck in films. This is what many people do. And she made it good. From her front to her back - everything was making news! Once you become a celebrity, it's easy to get lax and forgetful about certain things. It's happened to me too. I often keep postponing so many things that require urgent attention. I am sure she must have tried to get her papers in order but perhaps didn't quite understand how serious the matter was. She would have thought, kar lenge (will do it later), little realising the consequences."
Mumait, who will soon go international with a music video starring Enrique Iglesias, isn't worried about the foreign blood flowing into Indian showbiz. "Honestly I don't care who comes and goes. Who the hell am I to stop anyone from coming and finding work here? The foreign girls also want fame and money and I see nothing wrong in that. I don't mind the competition because everybody comes from different backgrounds and with different skillsets. After all, who knows what's going to happen tomorrow. Negar may come back and make it big," she says.
But even for someone as nonchalant as Mumait, the Indian film fraternity's fascination for fair skin can at times get frustrating. According to her: "I think the industry as a whole has to take a call on it. When our own producers and directors don't seem concerned, who are we and what can we do about the situation? I know so many good actors, actresses and other strugglers who may never get their big break. But unfortunately that's the way our industry works. All I can say is if the time is right, you will find success - foreigners or no foreigners to compete with."
While Rakhi Sawant, who shot to fame with the number in , agrees there's nothing wrong if foreign-bred beauties want to shake a leg in Mumbai, she insists that laws have to be respected at all times. "They are welcome to India but they must have their papers in order. As far as I know, Negar did have some sort of visa but it wasn't the kind that would allow her to work here. She should have ensured that all her papers were correct before she started accepting assignments. I was in London when I heard of Negar's deportation. In fact she's working in my brother's film . Since the film is almost 80 per cent complete, they will now have to look for options where they can shoot outside India. Possibly Nepal or Mauritius. I don't think Negar will be allowed to come to India even to finish her pending projects," she says.
However Rakhi has no intention of fishing in troubled waters. "People are offering me the films Negar was supposed to do. The idea seems to be - if we can't have Negar, let's make do with Rakhi. But I am not interested in her kind of films that usually involved a lot of nudity. Although I am open to a lot of things including exposure, I don't subscribe to nudity," she says.
Rakhi is certainly not running scared of a 'whitewash'. "I feel no pressure from anybody, let alone foreign stars. I have all it takes to succeed - good looks, body, luck and acting skills. I'm a fully loaded car with all the right accessories!" she quips.
Having someone snapping at your heels, says Rakhi, is never bad: "These girls bring in fresh ideas into the industry - be it new dance steps or sheer energy. We are constantly learning from each other. Competition brings out the best in us."
