Gauhar & I are not friends: Hard Kaur

Hard Kaur's exit from Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa was no less than a surprise. Despite getting the highest marks and loads of appreciation from judges, the

Hard Kaur More Pics

rapper couldn't make it to the finals.

She came with a bang, enthralled us with her moves and amazed us with what she calls her 'NRI Mujra'. Unfortunately, she could not get enough public votes.

The lively lady is not at all disappointed with her elimination and feels like a 'winner' already.

What was your first reaction after the results were announced? Had you been expecting it?

The first thing that came to my mind post-elimination was 'holidays'. I used to invest eight-12 hours everyday for rehearsals. So now, I can just chill out for sometime.

The only thing that upset me was that after attaining highest marks, I didn't deserve to stand in the face-off. It's quite humiliating and I felt really bad for my choreographer, Savio. But at the end, our motive was to earn respect and we did that. Everyone was in tears after the results were announced. Even the judges protested against the decision.

You were one of the judges' favorites and always scored well. After coming so far, were you expecting to win?

Savio and I never expected to win, but we always tried to maintain a high standard. Ultimately, everyone started expecting the same from us. Out of hundred people I meet now, 95 say they expected me to win. I feel lucky to get so much of love and support. I feel like a winner already.

Who do you think is the weakest contender among Gauhar Khan, Karan Singh Grover and Baichung Bhutia?

If you talk about dancing skills, Gauhar is definitely better than both the guys. I really wanted me, Shilpa Shukla and Gauhar to be in the top three. The competition level would have been fierce.

Do you think it's fair enough to rely on public voting for elimination?
It's definitely unfair but then that's the format of the show. You can't help it when the channel is only interested in earning money. What's the point of having a jury then? All the judges really tried hard to take the best dancers forward. But audiences have their own reasons for voting.

You made some friends and some foes during the show. So who falls into the 'friends' category?

That would surely include Mohinder Amarnath. He is such a sweetheart and was quite friendly with all the participants on the show. I got along well with Shilpa too. She has a great sense of humour.

What went wrong between Gauhar and you?
We have never been great friends, but I have no personal grudges against her. She first targeted Karan, then Praul and then me. There is no point looking stupid on television for somebody else's entertainment. Shilpa and me used to tell each other, how does all this matter; let us just concentrate on losing weight.

I guess all the things that Gauhar said was because of the competition pressure. I knew, once Jhalak wraps up, everyone will get back to their lives and wouldn't bother with what happened on the show. I think it was deliberately highlighted.

You carried off the Mujra act so well, how did you manage to that.
I am glad that people liked my NRI style 'Mujra'. It was quite a lot of fun and a different task for me.

Tell us something about your partner Savio.
We did not have any arguments throughout the show. I always respected his ideas and never said no to him. From my side he was creatively free to try anything. I only used to tell him one thing — let's do something different.

A quality that makes you better from rest of the participants...
It has to be my passion for dancing.

One thing that you have learned from Jhalak ?
Always be yourself.

Out of 10, how would you rate your journey on Jhalak ?
Ten on ten without a doubt. I made great friends, learnt some great forms of dancing and had loads of fun.

What else is keeping you busy at the moment?
I am about to finish off my second album and recording for a few Bollywood movies too. Soon I will be leaving for a world tour with Sunidhi Chauhan and Sonu Nigam.

Check out Hard Kaur's pics