'I am her friend, guide and big brother' - Ram Kapoor

Ram Kapoor has an important role to play in Rakhi Sawant's Swayamvar. NDTV Imagine describes him as the 'host and dost' of the show and Sawant respectively. However, Kapoor calls himself "Rakhi ka bada bhai, uska dost jo use guide karega."

Currently stationed in Udaipur's Fatehgarh Palace to shoot for Rakhi Ka Swayamvar, Kapoor says he is enjoying his new role. "I wanted to be part of a different show and this is it. I have hosted shows before, so I won't call myself a host on this one. I'd say that I'm her friend, her guide, a big brother who she can lean on and cry and look for support." When someone asks him if he's not worried about Sawant overshadowing him, he masks his irritation saying, "But I want her to overshadow me completely. It's her show, her swayamvar, so naturally the focus is on her. I'm not playing any character but myself. I'm happy being in the sidelines because that's where I'm supposed to be. I'm like the one point man who Rakhi and her suitors can depend on for any kind of advice and support."

It's not a strategic career move he says, "I'm doing this for my personal growth. Rakhi has always intrigued me. I find her life story very interesting. She has gone through a lot in life. This is a life altering experience for her and when the opportunity came up to me to be part of something like this, I said yes. I want to know how she will arrive at her final decision, how she will choose her man, so on and so forth." Marriage is a very private affair. Doesn't he think weaving it in, in a show like this, dilutes its sanctity? "Not really because Rakhi is a celebrity and I'm sure people are curious to know the guy she will marry. When two people decide to come together and marry, it doesn't matter whether they are doing it privately or on national television, as long as they know what they are getting into. Besides, Rakhi isn't doing something new. We have seen the practice of swayamvar from ancient times, so if Rakhi has chosen to do it like this, why not?"

Does he feel the 16 prospective grooms are in the show with noble intentions? "Well, I had thought of the same thing. I was expecting most of them to participate in this with some ulterior motives but I was pleasantly surprised to know that it isn't the case. Almost all of them do intend to marry her and are genuinely interested." Finally, assuming he wasn't married and had not declared himself as her brother, would Kapoor have participated in the swayamvar? "No, simply because my sensibilities don't allow me to do so. Having said that, I feel every one is a product of the environment they have grown up in, the experiences they have gone through, the families they belong to, so if these guys have chosen to be part of it, and having interacted with them and knowing their backgrounds, I do understand what has made them go for it. So it's not as if I'm right and they are wrong."

Ram Kapoor's forthcoming career moves, Sagar Arts' Saudagar, "a show on a massive scale for Imagine." Anurag Kashyap's next film Udaan, Kartik Calling Kartik with Farhan Akhtar and Khalid Mohammad's next.

Reporter and Author: Kshama Rao