Item girl Rakhi Sawant is all set to star in the Bengali remake of `The Dirty Picture` and she says she will be better than National Award winning actress Vidya Balan. The 33-year-old will play a sex siren in the untitled film to be directed by Bengali actress-turned-politician Shatabdi Roy and she says her film will set more tongues wagging than the original.
"The film is based on the life of an item girl and it is only befitting that I take on the role as I am the original item girl of Bollywood. I admire Vidya a lot. I think she is a great actress and she did a great job in the film. But now it is my turn and I will do a better ooh lala than her. After this film I am hoping that everyone will chant only my name," Rakhi told reporters.
Tollywood actor and member of Parliament Tapas Pal is producing the film. Besides numerous item songs and TV shows, the `Pardesiya` girl has also done small parts in films like `Main Hoon Na`, "Mumbai Xpress", `Dil Bole Hadippa` and she says she is excited about her first film as a full fledged actress.
"I have only done item songs and done small parts in films. This will be the very first time that I will be doing a full fledged film with dialogues, song and dance and that too in Bengali. I have already done an item song in Shatabdi`s film "Om Shanti". I am learning Bengali because I want to dub for myself. I have asked the director to give me the full Bengali script written in Hindi," she said.
She may be known for her bold image but the actress says she is both thrilled and nervous about shooting intimate scenes in the film as she has never done it before. "I will be doing intimate scenes for the first time. I am nervous about it because I have never done it before. I take inspiration by watching films of Emraan Hashmi and Mallika Sherawat and I think after the film I will get the title of Miss serial kisser of Bollywood," she added.
Though the hunt for the male actors for the film is still on, Rakhi has her own list on her mind. "I want Victor Banerjee to play the role essayed by Nasseruddin Shah, Jeet as Tusshar and Prosenjit as Emraan Hashmi," she said. Off late actresses like Vidya Balan, Katrina Kaif, Chitrangada Singh are doing item songs in films but Rakhi is not threatened.
"Nowadays heroines are doing everything from acting to item songs. They are jumping into the territory of item girls. They now know that a romantic song with the hero will not take them anywhere but a four minute item song can get them maximum exposure. I like Kareena and Katrina but only as actors not as item girls. But I am not threatened at all. I have my own place. I am the original item girl and will always be so," Rakhi said.
Before her big venture, Rakhi will be seen in an item song `lattoo` in director Anil Balani`s film "Rakhtabeej", where she will be seen making a top dance on her belly. "I had a very difficult time shooting for the song. The top (lattoo) was rotating on my belly and I was injured with the iron pin. I even had to take injection. I also had to wear a 56 kgs lehenga for the song and was not able to move an inch during the song. But in the end, I had fun as I enjoy dancing a lot. I am happy with the way the song has turned out," she said.
When asked why she still chooses to be part of small films, she said, "I can`t afford to wait for big films. So I take up small films as they provide maximum exposure. I have worked in many big budget films but I don`t mind being part of B-grade films either," she said.