Rakhi Sawant is an Indian celebrity who has been a core memory for more than one generation. Especially for millennials, she was the ‘Pardesiya’ girl from 2004, or the Bigg Boss contestant, and who can forget Rakhi Ka Swayamvar?
For Gen Z, she was the star of countless random and wacky interviews, saying one outrageous thing or another. While there had been an initial stirring of something like appreciation during her early career, in the last couple of years, she was reduced to nothing more than cringe content, good for memes and jokes but nothing to be taken seriously.
However, in recent times, there has been a rise of Rakhi – a resurgence, almost, one could say.
This isn’t just about her popularity and the projects she’s getting, but about how Gen Z perceives her. The same generation that once reduced her to a punchline is now sharing her videos with captions closer to admiration than mockery.
So, it’s worth asking what actually changed: her, or the way Gen Z decides who deserves respect.
Rakhi Sawant’s Journey
Rakhi Sawant came onto the radar of the Indian audience in 2003, when the song ‘Mohabbat Hai Mirchi’ from the movie Chura Liyaa Hai Tumne came out.
The song became an instant hit, a viral sensation, and Rakhi Sawant became a known face. Her fame only continued to rise when she was seen in the music video “Pardesiya”, from the album D.J. Hot Remix Vol. 3, in 2004.
Her small but notable roles in movies like Masti and Main Hoon Na were also liked by the audience. Nothing groundbreaking, but people at least didn’t mind her being on the screen. From there, the name Rakhi Sawant started to gain attention.
Sawant, born Neeru Bheda in Mumbai in 1978, entered the industry as a dancer and background performer in the late 1990s, working her way up through item numbers and television reality shows rather than through any studio pipeline or family connection. That was something people found impressive.
Among the star kids and other famed celebrities, Sawant was a glimmer of hope that even someone with no backing, no support and no godfather could make it. However, soon that changed, since her image and the kind of projects she took up were seen as ‘classless’ and ‘inappropriate’ for good society.
Her willingness to be oversexualised, primarily doing ‘item numbers’ in Bollywood movies, is what ostracised her from so-called good society. Sawant, over the years, has been very candid about her journey as a celebrity.
In a 2025 interview with Bollywood Bubble, Sawant revealed, “Bahut hua casting couch ka zamaana, aisa hota tha ki raat ko bola jaata tha, ‘Aao, palang garam karo, subah heroine ban jao.’ Main boli, ‘Aisa kaun si heroine banti hai bhai?’ Main toh bachchi thi, mujhe toh maloom hi nahi tha ki palang kya hota hai, palang garam kya hota hai!
Main toh sochti thi, shayad niche sagdi-vagdi rakhni hoti hogi palang ke neeche, tab garam hota hoga! Mujhe kya maloom tha yeh sab? Abh toh mujhe sab maloom hai, ab toh main mature ho gayi hoon, badi ho gayi hoon, mujhe maloom hai, what is the meaning of ‘palang garam’. Us time mujhe samajh hi nahi aata tha.”
Earlier, in 2018, she had reportedly said, “When I was a struggler, yes, I did face the casting couch. But it wasn’t as if every producer or director I approached was guilty. As in every walk of life, there is sexual corruption in the film industry also. As far as I was concerned, this was just in the beginning.
But I had talent and I didn’t have to give in. I learnt to say no. And I used my talent as an artiste to make my way through life. I suggest all strugglers to have patience and not surrender to the temptation of shortcuts.”
She was also not embraced by Bollywood all that much, instead being kept on the fringe.
By Sawant’s own admission, the one who did offer some support was Salman Khan. In her words, delivered on the podcast Unfiltered with Ajaz Khan, “Mere liye agar is dharti par koi messiah hai to wo Salman bhai hain.”
Over the years, according to Rakhi, Khan has helped her not just professionally but personally, arranging financial support for her mother’s cancer treatment, including an American doctor and hospital bills estimated at Rs 2-3 crore.
She also attributed her participation in Bigg Boss 14 to Salman and Sohail Khan, stating in an interview that “I had messaged a thank you note to Sohail bhai and had thanked Salman sir also. He told me that Sohail loves you a lot and I thanked him again. He helped me. Salman sir is very busy, so I had contacted Sohail bhai with a hope that he might help me, and I feel lucky they gave me a chance.”
From Cringe To Cult
One of the biggest controversies of her career came in 2006, when singer Mika Singh forcibly kissed her at his birthday party, an incident she reported to the police as molestation.
But for most of the 2010s and early 2020s, Rakhi Sawant’s public image was built almost entirely around ridicule rather than respect. The truth is also that most of the trolling was not without cause, since Sawant’s public appearances and interviews were erratic at best and downright insulting at worst.
Her repeated changes in religious identity became a recurring media story; she converted to Islam in January 2023, taking the name Fatima Rakhi Sawant.
She also publicly backed filmmaker Sajid Khan, who was accused of sexual harassment during India’s #MeToo movement in 2018.
In 2022, Sawant, speaking to reporters, said, “Frankly speaking, Sajid Bhai jo hai chaar saal saza bhugat chuka hai. Kyun pehle koi awaaz nahi uthaya. Bigg Boss 16 me gaya, ab woh highlight ho raha hai, isliye behti ganga mein log haath dhona chahte hain.”
She also took a dig at Sunny Leone, claiming that she was ruining the country’s youth.
Read More: Fake Friendly Fridays: This Week, Rakhi Sawant Joins Us To Discuss Marriage And Life In The UK
Her relationships also became part of her public persona. In 2009, she launched the reality show Rakhi Ka Swayamvar, where she picked her husband from a number of contestants.
She eventually chose Elesh Parujanwala from Toronto, Canada; however, the two soon parted ways. She then got married to NRI Ritesh Singh in 2019, divorced him in 2022, then married Adil Khan Durrani later that same year, separating from him again within a year.
In 2018, there was even a fake wedding with Deepak Kalal, complete with a joint press conference and staged drama videos.
In an interview, she said, “Yes, it’s true we are getting married. Everyone in the industry is tying the knot and I felt it was the right time for me to get married too. Deepak proposed me on national television on India’s Got Talent and I decided to say yes.”
She also gave several interviews with outrageous statements and did crazy, wacky things. All it did was cement her as prime material for jokes and memes and absolutely never to be taken seriously.
What Changed?
But then, during the Jantar Mantar protests of 2026, Rakhi came out strongly in support of the protesters.
During a press event in July, she pulled out a sanitary pad with red paint on it and said, “Those who are beating and torturing students, I will throw this at them. Why? You must resign. If you can’t provide good education, can’t improve the future of the country… I have given my vote, I throw this at your face.”
She also directly called out BJP MP and actor Kangana Ranaut after Ranaut called some of the young protesters “Generation Gutter.” In a video posted to Instagram, Sawant called Ranaut “chudail” and questioned how she had risen to her position as an MP in the first place.
This created a visible shift in how Gen Z viewed her.
Her vocal support for the protests was a big reason the younger generation had a change of heart about Rakhi. She showed up, loudly and immediately, on the side of the young protesters, at a moment when many bigger, more “respectable” celebrities stayed silent.
Sawant is not alone in this; many celebrities who showed actual support for the protests and the students involved, and called out the heavy-handed response from the authorities, were showered with praise by young Indians.
These included Imran Khan, Sonakshi Sinha, Shabana Azmi and a few others.
So a good part of this newfound respect comes down to what Rakhi said in the present, and what the other ‘bigger’ stars didn’t – which has made Gen Z far more favourable towards her.
Another reason could be the general preference for authenticity among Gen Z, even if it means someone is kind of a mess, says and does crazy things and doesn’t fit in society’s mould. Over the years, Sawant has never really apologised for who she is, never softened her image to court approval, and never pretended her chaotic personal life didn’t happen.
Instead, she has, on several occasions, leaned into the tags society has given her, not only accepting them but also celebrating them.
So, for a generation that has grown increasingly sceptical of curated authenticity, someone who has been messy in public for over two decades and never tried to rewrite that record reads, simply, as more trustworthy than someone with a spotless image.
Image Credits: Google Images
Sources: Firstpost, Hindustan Times, The Print
Find the blogger: @chirali_08
This post is tagged under: Rakhi Sawant, Rakhi Sawant popularity, Rakhi Sawant bollywood, bollywood, Rakhi Sawant gen z, Rakhi Sawant resurgence, Rakhi Sawant cringe
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