'I am tired of giving explanations!'

You are said to have told the other contestants to underplay their performances so that you could win. Comment. Am I mad to do that? And even if that was true, why would anyone listen to me. It's the most weird story I have heard about myself. There have been several nasty things said about me in the past but this takes the cake. I don't know where this kind of story originated. My theory is that I may have joked with a fellow contestant which could have led to such stories. I am tired of giving an explanation about this.

You are said to be playing games. Like getting Narayani Shastri ousted and then making a small face about it. Narayani even made a jibe about it…
She never said that. And she sent me an SMS negating it after that report appeared. Now why would she say that she had been misquoted if she had indeed said it. I am not her friend nor does she owe me anything that she needs to clarify her stand with me, but nevertheless she had the decency to do so.

It is alleged that Star Plus is promoting you because you are the star of their show Kasauti Zindagi Ki?
Now that is entirely wrong. If it was true why would my grades fall. In the first episode we had 10 grades, in the second it went down to 9 and in the third it went down to 7. This was because there werelesser days to rehearse with every episode. Wouldn't you see an escalation of grades if I was indeed the channels favourite. Why only me, Hussain is the channels face too. Why aren't fingers being pointed at him?

It was quite a fiasco when Saroj Khan made a dramatic deduction of your score from 10 to 8. Did you take it as an insult?
See, it was my birthday that day and Sarojji probably got emotional and gave me the top score. But I went up to her and told her to give me as much as my performance deserved and not more or less. That's when she gave me 8. So there's no question of getting upset. I was happy with that too.

It is said that your husband Raja is a weak dancer while your performance shields his weakness…
No, infact I would say he's better than me. That's because he is ready to do things he hasn't done before and quite enthusiastically so.

It is said that this show brings couples closer?
Well, I have been married for seven to eight years now, so the chemistry better be there. But yes, our strength is that we cover up for each other. Like there are times when either of us can't do a step so we opt for something that suits us both. The co-ordination and understanding brings us closer.

How's your daughter Palak reacting to all this?
Oh, she does not like to come on the sets. She says 'aap log mera bahut insult karate ho' (laughs). Our falling grades embarrass her. Now she is out of town to celebrate Diwali while we were busy with our rehearsals here.

Who's your favourite jodi?
I like seeing Hussain-Tina dance. They look very sweet together especially Tina who is a very sweet girl. They invariably bring a smile on the face.