Roshni Olivera (BOMBAY TIMES; June 3, 2018)

Late television actress Pratyusha Banerjee’s boyfriend Rahul Raj Singh is all set to tie the knot. He will marry actress-entrepreneur Saloni Sharma, who was in a relationship with him before he started dating Pratyusha. In April 2016, Pratyusha committed suicide and Rahul was accused of abetment. Saloni’s name, too, cropped up at the time — she was accused of creating a rift between Rahul and Pratyusha. Much has happened since then. With the passage of time, equations have changed. Rahul and Saloni have not only got back together, but are also taking their relationship to the next level. BT spoke to Saloni about her patch-up with Rahul, marriage plans and whether she foresees a normal life in the future with him. Excerpts from the conversation...

The news of your marriage to Rahul Raj Singh has come as a surprise to many. Your name had come up two years ago following Pratyusha’s suicide. At that time, you were miffed with Rahul and had accused him of cheating on you after being together for five years. You also said that he hid the fact that he was a divorcee (Rahul was earlier married to an air hostess) from you.
What happened in 2016 was unfortunate and sudden. I did not see it coming, especially all the false allegations and accusations against me. To be honest, I was miffed with Rahul. However, I did not give out too many statements; just a few, and that also because of all the lies that were being circulated about me. As far as his divorce is concerned, I was aware about his separation. So, it was just a gossip stirrer.

You were accused of driving a wedge between Rahul and Pratyusha. That was also said to be one of the reasons for Pratyusha’s depression, due to which she eventually took the extreme step. How did you cope with all the allegations then?
I would like to clarify this, and I want to say it really loud and clear. It’s completely false that I came in between Rahul and Pratyusha. I would never agree to be the other woman! The fact is that I knew Rahul for more than five years very closely and Pratyusha knew him for about 10 months after that. So, the question of me tearing them apart cannot logically arise. Secondly, as I have said earlier, someone has lost her life, hence raising fingers now is in bad taste and disrespectful.

When did Rahul and you make peace with each other? And at what point did the two of you decide to take your relationship to the next level?
We were close for five years before we had a rift and he embarked on a new relationship, which everyone’s aware of. Initially, I was miffed and saddened by the unexpected turn of events. But when I saw the mental torture that Rahul was undergoing, what with all the baseless allegations and false cases, I decided to stand by him again. It took us a while to understand that we were always meant to be together, despite such a major crisis that we both survived. Now, after seven-and-a-half years of knowing each other and having gone through all the ups and downs, we realised that it’s time we took the plunge.

What does your family have to say about your decision to get married to Rahul?
My family is obviously a bit sceptical and unsure about how to react to the current situation. Though they were always fond of him, at present, seeing the way things have been portrayed along with the legal issues, they are naturally apprehensive. But Rahul and I are determined to remove these fears from their minds, because we know what we have now is pure and true.

Given the past, are you insecure about your relationship with Rahul?
I used to be insecure earlier, given all that we have been put through, but I must say, Rahul has changed in a wonderful manner over the past few years. And therefore, I am sure that his heart is in the right place.

When are you planning to tie the knot? Will it be a traditional wedding?
We are planning to tie the knot this year and hopefully, it will be both, traditional and funky, much like our own personalities.

The Pratyusha suicide case is still on. Do you see the two of you leading a normal life together in the future?
The case is on, but why should that cause any further upheaval in our lives than it already has. I am praying that the worst is behind us. It is actually an eye-opener for everyone... half-baked information can tarnish a person’s life and reputation. It is sad that people who have never met us or even seen us, have formed wrong opinions about us. Their only source of information is TV channels or any other form of news. I would request people to be a bit more sensible before passing judgements. It has been more than two-and-a-half years since Rahul faced such a terrible tragedy in his life, so to all the people raising eyebrows about his impending marriage, I would like to say that everyone deserves a second chance to be happy, to move on and to lead a normal life. It takes a lot for someone to get their life back together.

Seema Mattoo (BOMBAY TIMES; April 15, 2016)

A fortnight after the Balika Vadhu actress's death, her boyfriend, Rahul Raj Singh's former girlfriend and partner, Saloni Sharma, finally opens up
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 14, 2016)


On April 1, Pratyusha Banerjee hanged herself from the ceiling fan at her Goregaon residence. Following her shocking suicide, her friends, producer Vikas Gupta and wedding planner Leena Dias, have been blaming Pratyusha Bannerjee's boyfriend Rahul Raj Singh's ex-girlfriend, Saloni Sharme, for the tragedy, alleging that she used to assault the Balika Vadhu actress in his absence. Speaking to Mirror, Saloni denied the allegations.

She claimed that she had met Rahul five years ago through a common friend and they started two event management companies. "We started dating only in the last three years of our association," informed the actress-turned- entrepreneur.

Saloni insisted that she was completely clueless that while he was seeing her, Rahul had also started dating Pratyusha. "He started dating her in May 2015 and I only discovered this in July through a few industry friends. When I went to his place to confront him, an inebriated Pratyusha barged in later and told me to get out of their lives. We had a huge argument after which I left them alone," she recalled.

She informed that the next day Rahul called her requesting that she ignore Pratyusha's behaviour, insisting that they were just friends. "I let it go, but contrary to what is being written, it wasn't me but Pratyusha who was the other woman in Rahul's life. She knew about our affair and manipulated Rahul to leave me, urging him to even break all professional ties," she said.

Soon after, Saloni admitted that she was shocked to see pictures of Pratyusha celebrating her birthday with Rahul in the papers and on August 10 went to his apartment for a showdown. She wasn't allowed to enter the building. "Rahul called my father asking him to take me away. When he reached, we went up to Rahul's flat where we saw Pratyusha and her parents. When I confronted her, she told us that Rahul and she were getting married and I should get out of their lives. I broke up with Rahul the same day," Saloni asserted.

However, with both their companies running into deficit, Saloni, who had invested Rs 30 lakh in the ventures, would occasionally meet Rahul to collect a "few thousands" from him as they were sharing the loss. When the money stopped, she dropped in on Rahul and Pratyusha's Oshiwara flat on February 11.

"Pratyusha refused to give me any money and turned violent, urging Rahul to join her in assaulting me. They threw me out of the house. She even took my purse, dupatta and glasses, so I asked the neighbours for help. I banged on the door and Pratyusha eventually opened it wearing my dupatta. She returned my stuff and I left," Saloni said. She claimed that Rahul chased after her and in a fury, she hit him in the building lobby. "Pratyusha followed and I hit her too. Unfortunately, there was no CCTV in the apartment so there's no record of what happened there, but the camera in the lobby filmed the fight," Saloni confided.

She claimed that after this incident, she filed a complaint against the couple in the Bangur Nagar Police Station. "But they requested me to withdraw it saying that if they were put behind bars, Rahul wouldn't be able to pay the money back. So I took the complaint back. That was the last time I met Pratyusha," she maintained.

Saloni added that she was amazed when her name was dragged through mud after the Balika Vadhu actress's death. "I have never met Vikas, Kamya Punjabi or Rakhi Sawant, so how can they claim to know so much about me? Leena was employed with our company for a brief period. I wasn't happy with her work and I had mentioned this to Rahul once but we did not sack her, she left on her own. I guess, she had a grudge against me which she is taking out now," she pointed out.

She recorded her statement with the police last week, admitting that the incident has created havoc in her life and maligned her family. "I didn't think it's in good taste to talk ill of the dead. But after these allegations I had no option but to speak up," she signed off.