Reality TV star Jessel Taank, the first Indian to feature in The Real Housewives of New York City (RHONY), was in Mumbai recently. Talking about her week-long visit, she shares, “India’s so exciting — economically and culturally — it’s imploding. What drew me to India is the fact that I am labelled as the first Indian on RHONY and though’s a big compliment. Yet, I feel a disconnect.”

Taank, who was born and raised in London before moving to the US, adds, “I have visited (India) earlier for wedding shopping, but it’s been a while. I haven’t really seen India. (During this visit), I met some designers to help them come to the US and also wanted to check Mumbai’s fashion scene. I met many of my friends but missed the Diwali parties. Next year, I will come a little earlier.”

During her trip, she met actors Mouni Roy, Arjun Rampal, and Bhumi Pednekar, among others. But she recalls the one who left her star-struck was actor Salman Khan, though not on this visit. “I grew up watching Bollywood movies and I’m still very star-struck. And years ago, I was holidaying here and met Salman Khan at the hotel. I was stunned. Like a fan girl, I asked him, ‘Can I take a picture with you?’ It was surreal.”

Taank calls the Indian reality series, The Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives (TFLOBW), her guilty pleasure: “It’s the mirror show of RHONY. So, I was curious. The women in the show are part of Bollywood in some form, so to get a peek into their lives was interesting. On RHONY, we were all professionally established women, but we didn’t have a history of being in the movie industry. We are going to do a crossover between TFLOBW and RHONY at some point. I can’t say what it is right now, it’s in the works.”