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Rajiv Khandelwal adopts a girl child
Five-year-old Swati is the most recent addition to the actor's family
Subhash K Jha
After Sushmita Sen adopted Renee and chose to be a single parent, it is now Rajiv Khandelwal who will be embarking on similar territory. Currently riding a high with the success of his second daily Left Right Left on SAB channel, he has adopted a five-year old girl child called Swati.
"I really don't want to make a public declaration of this. I've kept it a secret so far. But I guess such news will definitely get out and cannot be kept a secret. Her name is Swati. I adopted her because I love kids especially little girls. I saw her picture and fell in love with her face. I went to an institute called Muskaan and adopted her. But to me she's my daughter," he says.
Wouldn't this adopted child later cause problems for Rajiv, especially when he has a family and children of his own? "Why should it pose to be a problem in the future? To me there is no difference between my biological child and Swati," he says.
Rajiv had been visiting Muskaan for a while now. "I'm not sure Swati knows my identity. Every time she's asked about me, she shyly says I'm on television." Talking about his new show Rajiv says, "I took on my second daily with the intention of moving forward as an actor. The pleasure of wearing an army uniform in a serial made me sign Left Right Left. I always wanted to be in the army. This is my chance to fulfill my dreams. The army isn't easy to portray on the small screen. We need to work harder on the concept."
Although the serial is doing well, it hasn't surpassed his popularity as Sujal on Ekta Kapoor's Kahiin To Hoga. "Give it time. Sujal did not become popular in one day. If history is created everyday it becomes hysteria. I find myself improving as an actor. I'd still like to do work sparingly. As long as my financial needs are taken care of I'd rather do work I believe in."
This time there are no stories linking him to his Left Right Left co-star Shweta Salve. "I guess people are too busy talking about Aamna Sharif and me, to link me to anyone else. But my friendship with Aamna remains consistent, not a casualty of all the gossip and speculation surrounding us."
• "I adopted her because I love children, especially little girls. I saw her picture and fell in love with it"– Rajiv Khandelwal
