Rakhi Ka Swayamwar

Rakhi Ka Swayamwar
Promotional logo
Directed byArif Shamsi
Country of originIndia
Original languageHindi
Production
CinematographySurinder Rao
Running timeapprox. 54 minutes
Original release
NetworkNDTV Imagine
Release29 June (2009-06-29) –
2 August 2009 (2009-08-02)
Related
Rahul Dulhaniya le Jayenge

Rakhi Ka Swayamwar was a reality show broadcast on NDTV Imagine. The show started on 29 June 2009[1] and ended on 2 August 2009. It was hosted by Bollywood actor Ram Kapoor. The show was filmed at various locations in Udaipur.

In the final episode ("Faisle Ki Raat") held on 2 August 2009, Rakhi Sawant selected Elesh Parujanwala, a Canadian businessman from Toronto,[2] as her future bridegroom from among the three finalists. Although the show's original premise was that the couple would marry immediately, they have decided in favour of postponing their marriage for an indefinite period.

On 28 July 2009, a Jaipur judge lodged an FIR against Sawant and several NDTV executives in response to a claim by writer Gaurav Tiwari that the channel stole the idea for a swayamvar-based reality show from his website.[3] Season 2 of the reality programme, titled Rahul Dulhaniya Le Jayega, featuring Rahul Mahajan as the groom looking for a bride concluded on 6 March 2010 where he wed Dimpy Ganguly on live national television. The third season of the reality show was called Ratan Ka Rishta and it featured Indian television actress Ratan Rajput who was looking for a groom. The third season concluded on 3 July 2011, when Ratan was engaged to Abhinav Sharma.[4]

Contestants

Name Age Hometown Job Eliminated
Elesh Parujanwala 30 Toronto, Canada NRI Businessman Winner
Manas Katyal 22 New Delhi Media Professional Finalist
Chitiz Jain 26 New Delhi Fashion Designer & Businessman Finalist
Manmohan Tiwari 25 Rishikesh Lawyer & Theatre Actor 21 July
Luv Khanna 26 New Delhi Model 17 July
Ashwin Chaudhuri 28 Nagpur Marriage Bureau Owner 15 July
Raman Handa 26 Saharanpur Astrologer & Vastu Consultant 13 July
Kapil Mathur 28 Jaipur Retail Manager 10 July
Atirek Sharma 24 Kanpur Actor 9 July
Pranav Damle 26 Mumbai Mechanical Engineer 3 July
Raj Kripal Singh 27 Mumbai Stuntman 3 July
Ather Parwez 33 Srinagar Policeman 3 July
Ali Bana 30 Mumbai Choreographer 1 July
Deepak Raghav 25 Bulandshahr Fitness Trainer 30 June
Rishi Dwivedi 22 Lucknow Professional Dancer 30 June
Aman Talwar 21 Faridabad Student 30 June

After "Faisle Ki Raat"

Originally, the winner of the show was going to marry in the final episode. But, when Rakhi did not feel ready to get married, she and Elesh got engaged during the final episode entitled "Faisle Ki Raat". After the show, It was reported that the couple were happy and had agreed to do a show called Pati Patni Aur Woh. It was during this show, that their relationship went downhill. They split up after the show because Elesh wanted Rakhi to quit her job as a Bollywood dancer and settle in Canada with him. After the split, many news and magazines reported that this was predecided that Rakhi had done the show for money and that Elesh did the show for publicity.

References

  1. ^ "Marriage made in heaven, or on TV? Rakhi decides on Sunday". Sify. Indo-Asian News Service. 31 July 2009. Archived from the original on 3 August 2009. Retrieved 25 August 2009.
  2. ^ "Elesh Parujanwala wins Rakhi Sawant's hand in 'Swayamwar'". The Times of India. 2 August 2009. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 25 August 2009.
  3. ^ "Jaipur court orders FIR against Rakhi Sawant, five others". The Times of India. 29 July 2009. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 25 August 2009.
  4. ^ "Rahul Mahajan weds Dimpy Ganguly on reality TV". Yahoo News. 6 March 2010. Archived from the original on 9 March 2010. Retrieved 8 March 2010.