Rakhi Sawant to wear Rs.3 mn necklace on ’swayamvar’ D-day

NEW DELHI - Rakhi Sawant surely couldn’t have asked for more. A Rs.30 lakh (Rs. 3 million) necklace designed by Farah Ali Khan, a lehenga-choli wedding dress by celebrity designer Neeta Lulla, a ’swayamvar’ on national television and a grand wedding to be watched by millions across the country.

The former ‘item girl’, who has had a rags-to-riches career, will marry on NDTV Imagine’s reality show “Rakhi Ka Swayamvar” soon. She will choose her “perfect man” from among nine grooms who have come from cities like New Delhi, Mumbai, Rishikesh, Jaipur and Kanpur and even from places as far off as Toronto.

National award winning designer Neeta Lulla, who is one of Aishwarya Rai’s favourite designers, and ace jewellery designer Farah Khan Ali have been roped in to help Rakhi look her best on her D-day. And the two are doing every bit they can to fulfil the bride-to-be’s wish to look like a “princess” that special day.

“Rakhi told us she wants to look like a princess that day - something like she has never looked before. I have given her a very colourful ensemble - it’s a very conservative outfit,” Lulla told IANS over phone from Mumbai.

“For her wedding day, Rakhi would be wearing a lehenga-choli in five different colours with ornate kundan work to give her an ethnic Rajasthani look,” said Lulla, who has designed Aishwarya’s clothes in movies like “Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam”, “Devdas” and more recently “Jodhaa Akbar”.

To complement her outfit, Rakhi will be donning traditional Indian jadau jewellery designed by Farah Ali Khan, the daughter of yesteryears actor Sanjay Khan and well-known interior designer Zarine Khan.

“The choker that Rakhi will be wearing for her wedding day is very heavy. It looks very traditional and covers almost her entire neck,” she said.

According to Khan, the choker costs approximately Rs.3 million.

However, Lulla has refused to divulge the price tag of her outfit.

The two designers are not only putting their creative instincts together for Rakhi’s wedding day but also for the sangeet and mehendi (pre-wedding) ceremonies.

For the sangeet, Rakhi decided to opt for an Indo-Western look in blue. Lulla says it is a very contemporary outfit. To match the dress, Khan has given her an elaborate diamond neck piece, which also costs around Rs.3 million.

If both the designers are to be believed, Rakhi was extremely “accomodating” to their suggestions but gave her inputs as well.

“Rakhi told me that her earrings shouldn’t be very heavy so that she can dance freely. She also said that I should design ornaments which don’t break,” said Khan.

If this wasn’t enough, model-turned-fashion co-ordinator Marc Robinson has also been roped in to groom Rakhi’s prospective grooms, who are vying to marry the former item girl through the reality show.

Rakhi’s wedding will take place as soon as she zeroes in on an eligible bachelor for herself on NDTV Imagine’s show “Rakhi Ka Swayamvar” - a move that has left a lot of people in tinsel town shocked.