Article--MIKA--I Wanted to out!--Intervie

Are you still down after your exit from Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa? No, I'm very relaxed. My daily routine was getting knocked for a six because of all the practice ses- sions. I do a lot of stage shows and usually wake up around 6 p m. However, for the past few months, I've had to wake up much earlier for the rehearsals that would begin around 4 p m. Reportedly, you never showed up for the practice sessions on time. It wasn't easy. I had other com- mitments too. But my choreogra- pher, Tanushree's a sweet girl. I could only give her two days a week, six hours a day, but she never complained. The others practised the whole week. Why do you think you were voted out? I wanted out. I asked my fans not to vote for me and they obliged. If you remember, I'd requested those from Rajasthan to vote for Sandhya (Mridul) and those from Gujarat to vote for Jay (Bhan- ushali). They always listen to me. If you wanted out, why did you agree to be a part of it in the first place? I took it up because it was excit- ing to be with Cyrus (Broacha), Ronit (Roy) and Sudha (Chandran). But then all the good guys were evicted. I really felt bad when Prachi (Desai) was ousted. I knew it was time for me to step out too. Why? What do you have against the remaining contestants? They don't match my standards. It didn't make any difference to me whether I beat (Mir Ranjan) Negi or not. Most of the time you insisted on hav- ing your way with the steps.. Tanushree's a Latino dancer.. totally into Samba. But Jhalak.. is an Indian dance show yaar. They want Madhuri Dixit and Govinda style jhatkas. I had to give the viewers what they wanted. The judges were very critical of your performances. The judges aren't always right. Most people forget that this isn't just a dance competition in which the judges are God. You've got Boogie Woogie for that. Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa is a dance- reality show. The viewers want some reaction to the judges' com- ments. And I obliged. Would you do any other reality show? I was offered Bigg Boss but I did- n't take it on because I had no clue what I'd be doing locked up in that house. I think they went to Rakhi (Sawant) only after I refused. Did you ever watch Bigg Boss? Yeah. It was entertaining. Come to think of it, the House was full of unemployed people wasn't it? It's been more than a year since the infamous kissing episode. Didn't it catapult you to fame? Then it should have worked both ways, na? Rakhi has to go to tem- ples and pray for votes while I never had to ask my fans to vote for me while on Jhalak.. I only had to request them to vote me out. But Rakhi is popular, you can't deny that. In Mumbai, probably. Simply because you make a hue and cry on TV and get some posters plas- tered around the city. But that doesn't make you famous across the country. Has Jhalak.. made a difference to you professionally? I was already popular.. it's only got me many more fans. My lat- est hit from Jab We Met, Maujja hi maujja, is a bigger chart- buster than all the songs of OSO and Saawariya put together. I've started asking for Rs 7 to 10 lakh for stage shows after Jhalak.. and I'm getting it too. You don't do much of playback singing, do you? I'm not interested in becoming a playback singer. I'm happy being a stage performer. I only do play- back for very close friends. There's a song in Dus Kahaniyaan.. that I did for Anna (Suneil Shetty). janaki.viswanathan@hindustantimes.com