Rakhi Sawant in high spirits

Is there anyone more 'in your face' than Rakhi Sawant? The Bollywood siren is certainly courting infamy rather than fame by letting her verbal diarrhoea go unchecked

For a person who has recently been unceremoniously dumped by her boyfriend, the Bollywood actress Rakhi Sawant is in surprisingly high spirits when she breezes in an hour late for a press conference, before flitting out to the It's Mirchi Night club at the Ramee Royal Hotel to mix a few tunes.

The spunky starlet is in a confessional mode even before her sculpted derriere is planted in the hot seat. In what can be called a rare occurrence, the journalists are the ones who seem to be shifting uncomfortably in their seats while the actress (if you could call gyrating to crude numbers a creative art) jabbers on.

"I have an announcement to make. I am no longer in a relationship. My boyfriend Abhishek has broken up with me. He used me and then discarded me," Sawant wails. And just to set the record straight, she's not referring to Ash's husband Abhishek Bachchan.

"He is now a hotshot choreographer, so why would he need me now?"

When tabloid! caught up with her on the sidelines, the actress-cum-TV show anchor said she was restocking her relationship survival kit. Her new mission is to hunt down a rich business tycoon. "I want to marry somebody like Anil Ambani [India's Reliance Industry business scion and one of the world's richest men]. He should have pots of money."

Blind rage

"I don't believe in love anymore," said Sawant, who practices controversy is a competitive sport. From slapping her ex-boyfriend in public when he showed up unannounced at her door with a bouquet of red roses, to filing a complaint against pop singer Mika for forcibly kissing her during his birthday bash, Sawant thrives in stirring scandals.

Apart from harbouring dreams of ensnaring a sugar daddy, Sawant says that she often finds herself hurtling towards fits of blind rage when she thinks about the lives of privileged Bollywood celebrities, such as Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

"I love her, but I am insanely jealous too. When I look at her life, I can't help thinking: How could life be this perfect for her? She is beautiful, with a handsome husband and a big house. What more does she need in life?"

Sawant, who's often ridiculed by her peers, adds there will come a time when she will reach the top of the Bollywood food chain. "Rakhi Sawant is an original piece. You will not find anybody like me in Bollywood," Sawant says triumphantly.

Though we are tempted to nod our heads in agreement, Sawant, who has no qualms about referring to herself as a "cheez" (the Hindi slang for object) continues to boast uninterrupted: "Did you know, I am the favourite Khan girl. All the Khans — Salman, Shah Rukh and Aamir — love me. In fact, when Aamir Khan agreed to appear on my TV show, he said he was really intimidated by the questions I would ask him," she says.

In this case, the reticent actor Aamir Khan's fears were not unfounded, as the feisty actress had made some unsolicited remarks about his divorce and about how she favoured Khan's first wife over his current life partner, Kiran Rao.

Her verbal diarrhoea continues 10 minutes longer, during which she takes a dig at his nephew Imran Khan to underline the importance of talent in the cut-throat entertainment industry.

"Talent speaks, and the only way to survive in Bollywood is to leave the emotions out of the equation. For instance, look at Imran Khan. He keeps going on and on about Mammu (uncle) this… mammu that… before the release of his movies.

"But all that talk did not make his latest release, Kidnap, a hit," Sawant says, spewing her particular brand of vitriolic diatribe.

Poised to play leading roles in movies by A-list production houses like Yash Raj Films' tentatively titled Mauja Hi Mauja, Sawant signs off saying that her struggle will soon pay off. "I want to reach the top. I am willing to sacrifice my family, my friends and everything for it."

Spitfire with Sawant

On the wildest rumour about her: "That I have undergone 55 plastic surgeries. To set the record straight, I have only had breast implants, liposuction and botox."

On her dream project: "To be a contestant on the UK's Celebrity Big Brother and become an overnight sensation, like Shilpa Shetty."

On on-screen exposure: "I am more than happy to show skin, but I will not kiss on-screen. It was a promise made to my father. It's the least I can do for him. He doesn't talk to me anymore."