Roshni Olivera (BOMBAY TIMES; August 22, 2019)

Urvashi Dholakia, popular as television’s original Komolika, is known to call a spade a spade. The actress, who is currently seen on Nach Baliye with her ex, actor Anuj Sachdeva, will be eliminated on the show this weekend. Urvashi is upset with the elimination and believes that the entire process was unfair. In an exclusive interview with Bombay Times, the actress speaks about why she believes that she deserved better and how reality shows need to focus more on talent rather than drama. Excerpts from the interview:

Every week a couple gets eliminated on the dance reality show. This week it’s you. Why do you feel your elimination is unfair?
Well, if a couple has been scoring good marks, which is only increasing every week and there’s a certain vote bank that I know we have, then it’s difficult for me to believe that we were not able to win the love of our viewers. How can a couple be consistently moving up the scoreboard and yet be at the bottom four times in a row? Is this a dance show or a popularity contest? And if we are being judged on popularity, then I am not ready to believe that 35 years of work leads to a low fan base. Where’s the score board to show where each of us stands when it comes to audience's votes plus judges’ scores? If the show was all about young couples, then why bring us in? If you have brought us on the show, then why the partiality? This is not just a misuse of my image, but total disrespect to the hard-earned place that I’ve made for myself in the industry.

Anuj and I can’t fight and bicker on screen. We agreed to do the show thinking it’s a dance show and not a bloody fighting ring! There were couples who were allowed to re-shoot their acts when there were goof-ups on stage; they were told by our judges that the mistake would be edited. Why was that allowed? If we cannot pre-shoot an act, how can a reshoot be allowed, especially when it’s a live performance? In a reality show, you get one chance — you give it your best and you are judged on that. I thought I was signing up for a non-fiction show and not a fictional one. This is not the first time that I have done a reality show, but yes, it’s the first time that I have seen this kind of biased judgement. After getting a standing ovation from almost 300 people on the set for a performance, which I know was way better than the marks we received, we get eliminated. Why did the judges need almost a halfhour break to think about the score this time? They never did it in the last five weeks. I’m someone who has survived in this industry through hard work. I cannot and will not stop myself from speaking against unfair behaviour. The actor, entertainer, and the artiste in me says that we deserved better. We deserved to be treated fairly.

Reality shows tend to have a lot of drama because the makers believe that’s what sells. Even on Nach Baliye, there are plenty of fights happening between exes (Madhurima Tuli and Vishal Aditya Singh)…
It’s not that we haven’t given content, but we are two mature individuals and you can’t expect us to fight like teenagers. For me, Nach Baliye was a dance show that I signed up for. I wasn’t there to play the victim or the sympathy card, or to fight and create drama with my ex. If washing dirty linen in public is the idea, then there are other shows that one can be a part of. Why take up a dance show? If that’s the benchmark, then it’s sad as the audience is not stupid. Viewers are very intelligent and you cannot fool them. I wanted the world to see the independent woman that I am — mother of two and a mature individual — who has the ability to show the world that you can have a cordial relationship with your ex and even work with him. But on Nach..., it clearly seems like if there’s no drama, then there’s no prize. It’s not a dance competition, but a drama competition!

Have you spoken to the producer of the show, Salman Khan, about this?
No, I haven’t spoken to him and I don’t think it would be fair to involve him as he isn’t the one deciding who is treated how and when they will be eliminated from the show.

Do you regret being a part of the show?
I have loved performing on that stage. I have learnt a lot and I’m happy to have stretched myself beyond my own boundaries to perform. I didn’t know that I was capable of pulling off what I did each week, and that too performing with your ex, which has complexities of its own. I don’t regret being a part of the show, but what's deplorable is the way the show has been formatted, without any clarity in voting, with partiality towards certain couples and without giving everyone a fair stage.

What does Anuj have to say about this?
He’s also disheartened as we worked really hard, and everyone from the production team to the contestants felt that the elimination was completely unfair.

Urvashi Dholakia on why she signed up to unite with a former flame for Salman Khan’s upcoming dance reality show
Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 17, 2019)

Urvashi Dholakia, still synonymous with her character Komolika in the original Kasautii Zindagi Kay, has come on-board as a contestant on Salman Khan’s upcoming TV production, Nach Baliye 9. And while it has been widely reported that she will be appearing in the dance-based reality show with ex-boyfriend Anuj Sachdeva, the actress refuses to divulge details. “The show’s creative team is still in talks to figure out who would be the best match for me. It will be interesting. As far as chemistry goes, we will just have to wait and see how everything else works out,” she says.

Speaking about her decision to do the show, she reveals, “I took it up as I’ve always loved dancing and through this platform I could learn so much more. For me, it’s like acting. I’ve always wanted to be on TV and not watch it from the outside, the same goes for dance! I recently shot a promo in a grand setup.”

She goes on to add that she is a trained dancer. “That was many years ago, but it comes naturally to me. As far as prep for the show goes, we begin workshops shortly,” she says, adding that she is also looking forward to working with Salman. “I want to build a good rapport with him as long as I’m on the show.” 

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