There were rumours of Mahhi Vij having a showdown with her hus band Jay Bhanushali during the shoot of Khatron Ke Khiladi in Argentina as she felt he was getting friendly with Parvathy Omanakuttan. Was it just baseless gossip or was there more to the fight? We spoke to Mahi about this and why her relationship with Jay often comes under the scanner...

Why did Jay and you decide to do KKK together? What are the pros and cons of doing a reality show together?
It just happened that we were offered KKK last year, but could not do it. This year his dance reality show got delayed, so we got a chance to do KKK. There is a good side and a bad side to it. When you have your husband on the show, he can be a great support. The bad side is that when your husband is the captain and he puts you in the elimination round, you want to argue with him and ask him why he did it!

What about rumours of Jay getting friendly with Parvathy and the two of you having an argument with him because of that in Argentina?
Jay was never friendly with Parvathy and I don't want to talk about this because it will be blown out of proportion. I don't want to give importance to anyone.

Why is there constant buzz of your marriage being in trouble?
When I was doing Nach Baliye three years ago, people said I was pregnant as I had put on weight. A few weeks later, they were talking about trouble in our marriage! Every couple goes through their share of ups and downs, that's very natural. But in our case, each time something happens, people say Mahi is possessive. I certainly get disturbed reading such gossip about my marriage. It has been five-and-a-half years that we have been married and so now people should stop speculating about the future of our marriage.

Are you very possessive of your husband?
I am the last person to get possessive. I am too pretty and too good... that's what Jay feels. So there is no need for me to get possessive. I think Jay should get possessive about me, it's high time! If he ever tries to act smart or strays it will be his loss, not mine. But he will never do that. He is a great guy. Rumours are a part and parcel of the industry we are in, and we can't help that. More than anything else, I would like to say that Jay and I share a great friendship. If I was possessive, he would not be doing films with Surveen Chawla and Sunny Leone.

Do you plan to start a family sometime soon?
We had plans last year, but now we are just going with the flow. You keep planning and then God has his own plan.

While the ramp has been her mainstay, Parvathy Omanakuttan (Miss World 2008 first runner-up) has been steadily making inroads into filmdom. After her last release Pizza, the leggy beauty is all set to sign a Tamil film soon. Says Parvathy, “If things work out, this will be my second Tamil film. And I will be paired opposite a big actor. As far as Pizza goes, it was a learning experience. My co-star was good and so was the director, who is so young, and yet had such a clear vision of what he wanted.“

Meanwhile, she has auditioned for a Marathi film and is looking to try her luck in the Telugu industry as well. Says l she, “I am from Kerala but was brought up in Mumbai. For me, picking up languages is very easy, which is why I don't want to limit myself in any way. I would love to experiment with a Telugu film.“

Alongside films and fashion, she is also investing time in setting up a food-based business. “My dad has been in the industry for over 28 years and that experience is extremely valuable,“ she says, adding, “I have to meet people and start this with my dad soon.“

Parvathy Omanakuttan, 27, is a complete Mallu when it comes to her food, religion or following traditions. She is intelligent and would rather talk about things in the world as against just about lipsticks and fashion.
She is emotional and self-respecting with strong values. Ahead of her upcoming thriller Pizza, this Miss India 2008 talks about her mentor Hemant Trivedi, her love for travel and why modelling is easier for girls than boys. Excerpts:

How did you become a Miss India?
I am a Mallu born in Kerala, but brought up in Mumbai. My father retired as an F&B manager of a five-star hotel and my mother is a housewife. 'Omanakuttan' is my dad's name. My dad used to walk to his school in Kerala. Normally he would just go and sit in class, but on one occasion, his teacher asked his name and on the spur of the moment he said, 'Omanakuttan' (like how we say Chintu Baba in Hindi). His teacher wrote that in the register and that became his name. I have always been very adventurous and so, while growing up, I wanted to become an air force pilot flying the MiG-21 fighter planes, but coming from a Mallu family, I have always been held back.

Surprisingly, while I was always this tomboy with most of my friends being boys, I always remember watching Miss India very keenly from when I was very young. When I was in class IX, I had this big fight with this guy and my teacher, who was a Mallu, said, 'Don't you have any shame beating up this guy?
What do you want to do in life?' I realised that day that we live in a society, which is so male-dominated. I was studying in Mithibai College, when Hemant Trivedi, who was at that time choreographing Miss India, was also choreographing one of the inter-college events, in which I was participating. He suggested that I go for Miss India and that is really the first time that I thought of it. So I decided to participate in the Navy Queen at Vizag, which gave me a straight entry into Miss India South. I won that and got a straight entry into Miss India, which I won and went to represent our country at the Miss World pageant. But not winning Miss World was a very emotional moment for me. Everybody was rooting for me, but somehow I had this feeling that something is going wrong. When they announced the first runner up, standing on stage, I had this thought that they will announce my name, even though I knew that I had outperformed everybody else. The biggest source of support was the South African audience and even the parents of the other contestants, who were rooting for me. When my name was announced, the entire hall went silent and that kind of hit me as reality. I could have broken down, but I saw my mother and she waved to me saying keep smiling. And that kind of gave me the strength to hold on. I cried after the crowning when all the contestants hugged me and said, 'You are our Miss World.' The Miss World Russia, who had won, was also shocked, as no one was congratulating her. Miss India gave me a lot of recognition and a lot of work, be it modelling, getting ads or films in the South.

How did you get the lead role in Pizza?
I had done a Tamil film with superstar Ajith titled Billa 2. While the film did not do well, Anirudh Ravi Chander (who composed the music of Kolaveri Di) became my friend. On one of the trips that he came to Mumbai, I was having dinner with him, when Bejoy Nambiar came to see him for something and met me. A few months later, I got a call from Bejoy's office to audition for Pizza. I had heard a lot about the Tamil film which had been a super hit and liked the script. I was auditioned and selected for the role.

You have again gone back to modelling after a gap in between.
I have always loved travelling and for me, modelling was also a way of doing that. I got my passport first made in the final year of my exams and travelled for the first time abroad for a fashion show in between my two exams, as I didn't want to lose the opportunity of travelling. Fashion is quite like acting where you are putting up a face of what you are not in reality. I started modelling when I was 18, but gave it up completely after becoming a Miss India as I wanted to be an actor. I am very independent and never wasted my parents' money or depended on them financially. Had I continued doing modelling, I would have reached another level of respect, but I gave it up for films. I am an extremely self-respecting person and had decided for myself that no matter what, I would not cross the line to bag a role. I had two senior directors making direct suggestions to me, but I refused. So there was a period when I was neither modelling nor doing films. And that was very difficult. Just sitting at home doing nothing kind of puts you down emotionally and physically. I decided to go back to modelling, but it had become that much more difficult, but again I started from scratch and due to being a Miss India, I got work. A lot of designers like me as I am tall, rounded (not skinny) and am easy to work with without any tantrums. It's a well-known fact that modelling is way easier for women than men, as many of our designers are gay.

Talk about Hemant Trivedi?
He is like my elder brother. He had told my parents after working with me the first time, 'She will make you proud one day'. In 2000, he had a terrible accident, where he went into coma for 40 days. I believe he moved for the first time, when they told him that Lara Dutta had won Miss Universe. He had moved his fingers listening to that and that is when the doctors said there was a chance for him to survive. He did and he is now 54 and is a very strong source of support to me.

Have your parents been supportive in your career choice?
I am very close to my parents. My father was a little apprehensive before, but mom was very supportive and has always encouraged me to do whatever I wanted. She is the biggest source of support for me. My parents are conservative, but with time they have changed and have given me a lot of freedom. They put no restrictions on me and know all my friends. My father has always taught me that you need to first love yourself in order to love others. My father doesn't like the fact that a woman in today's world should sit at home and do nothing. I wanted to study abroad, but never wanted to put any financial pressure on my father. I instead chose to start modelling at 18 and supporting myself and my family, financially. Even though my parents have given me all the freedom, it hits them like an arrow when I tell them the opportunities I have given up to take up films, due to my value system. But I am self-respecting and I am proud of that.