Rakhi Sawant, a motormouth celebrity known for remaining in the limelight with her indiscreet utterances and eccentric behaviour, was recently in the news after pictures of her wedding with longtime beau Adil Khan Durrani went viral on the internet.
But since then, the actor has remained under the spotlight because of numerous twists and turns in her wedding saga that would put contemporary Bollywood movies to shame. It all started with pictures of Rakhi Sawant and her beau going viral, with the claims that the duo had finally tied the knot.
Rakhi Sawant confirms she is married to Adil
Rakhi Sawant confirmed that the two got married in a low-key Nikah ceremony in May last year.
Rakhi Sawant took the internet by storm after she shared the pictures and videos of her wedding on her Instagram page.
Sharing images of her wedding, Rakhi wrote a caption that read, “Finally, I’m happy so excited and got married my love is 4 Ever unconditional love for you Adil.”
In another video, the two exchanged garlands and signed the marriage registration form.
Rakhi converts to Islam for marrying Adil
Soon after, pictures of Rakhi and Adil’s Nikahnama went viral on social media sparking a debate that Rakhi has converted to Islam. What prompted the discussion was Rakhi Sawant’s name on the Nikahnama, which was ‘Rakhi Sawant Fatima’.
As per the Nikahnama, the two got married on May 29 last year at her home in Oshiwara, Mumbai. The Nikah took place at 1:30 p.m., and the bride was given a meher (security deposit) of Rs 51,786. A Vakil (guardian) – Abdul Kadir Lokhandwala – and two witnesses, Kulsum Bi Naseeruddin Naik and Ahmed Riyaz Shaikh – were present at the Nikah. Apart from the Nikah, Rakhi Sawant and Adil Khan Durrani also had got their marriage registered. Rakhi had earlier reportedly converted to Christianity.
While the social media was replete with congratulatory wishes for the couple, Rakhi’s husband Adil Khan Durrani initially called his Nikah ‘fake’, leaving Rakhi Sawant shocked and distressed, Adil Khan even stopped talking to Rakhi after she shared their wedding pictures on her Instagram page.
Rakhi Sawant revealed that she had asked Adil to either marry her or have no relationship at all, after which the two got married in May 2022. Adil, however, had asked Rakhi not to disclose their marriage for at least a year as it will be difficult for him to find a suitable groom for his sister as he is connected with the showbiz industry.
When asked about what prompted her to reveal her marriage all of a sudden, she said that after she returned from the BiggBoss Marathi season 4 house, she saw something on Adil’s phone which was beyond her tolerance levels.
Rakhi although said that she has no idea about why Adil has been denying their marriage, she claimed that Adil is under pressure from his family.
Rakhi while speaking to Telly Talk India broke into tears as she shared her ordeal and said, “I kept quiet for 7-8 months, and went to the BiggBoss Marathi show, however, after coming out of the BiggBoss house I saw something that was beyond my limit of tolerance. I was scared. I thought maybe such a case would not happen, as it has been happening these days. (Woh cases nahi hone chahiye jo aaj kal bahot saare ho rahe hain. Samaj rahe ho? Mujhe nahi pata Adil kyu deny kar raha hai,” Rakhi said.
Confirming her conversion to Islam Rakhi said, “I did ‘halal’ instead of ‘haram’. “Many people do ‘haram’ but I did ‘halal. Where am I wrong?.”
Rakhi went on to say, “My mother has been struggling for life in hospital, she has brain cancer, I am worried for her, I don’t know why is Adil denying our marriage, I have never had a moment of joy in my life even after marriage. I changed my name, I accepted Islam for you. (Adil) and have been doing everything according to you. I wanted to make our wedding viral but he asked me not to tell the media about it. I accepted his decision. The marriage certificate is there, Nikahnama is there, Maulana is conducting marriage rituals as seen in the video, then why is he denying the marriage.”
Adil Khan who had shared no pictures or anything related to his Nikah with Rakhi Sawant, finally opened up on Thursday only to “neither confirm nor deny” his marriage with Rakhi.
In a video shared by a person named Waahid Ali Khan, Adil Khan Durrani said that he neither confirms nor denies the wedding and also sought 10 to 12 days to speak on the matter and put forth his side of the story.
“I neither deny nor accept the marriage, after 10 to 12 days I will get back to talk about this. I need ten more days after that I will come to press and give an episode on what all happened.”
Interestingly, Rakhi Sawant was also seen in the video, confirming that the two have been staying together.
Reacting to the news about Rakhi’s wedding and conversion to Islam, her brother Rakesh Sawant told Zoom Digital that “We all are tensed. Rakhi is the youngest in his family and has faced many sorrows in her life. Last time during BiggBoss, Ritesh Singh (Rakhi’s ex-boyfriend) tried to use her and caused her much pain and suffering that is why she had a proper wedding this time too as per Adil’s rituals.”
When asked about Rakhi’s conversion to Islam and changing her name to Fatima, he said, “Even we don’t know about this. These things are between husband and wife. However, if Rakhi has done this (converted to Islam) she must have deliberated upon it. (Rakhi ne agar ye kiya hai too much such samajhkar hi kiya hoga).
Commenting on Rakhi Sawant’s Nikah with Adil Khan Durrani, Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen who is known for her critical views towards Islam said that even Rakhi Sawant had to convert to Islam to marry a person who happens to be a Muslim.
Taking to Twitter Taslima Nasreen wrote, “Even Rakhi Sawant had to convert to Islam because she married a man who happened to be a Muslim. Like other religions, Islam must be evolved and accept marriages between Muslims and non-Muslims.”
Even Rakhi Sawant had to convert to Islam because she married a man who happened to be a Muslim. Like other religions Islam must be evolved and accept marriages between Muslims and non-Muslims.
— taslima nasreen (@taslimanasreen) January 12, 2023
Rakhi Sawant’s lawyer says the marriage is legal
Sawant’s lawyer, Falguni Brahmbhatt, has come out in the support of the act, claiming that her marriage was legal.
“It is not at all a fake marriage. First of all, a nikah was performed and all the procedures were followed and that nikah was also registered. There is a proper nikahnama. After performing nikah, there is a procedure in Mumbai that you have to register your marriage with the Municipal Corporation,” Falguni told IANS.
“So, Rakhi and Adil filled up the form with the Municipal Corporation, went to the office and registered their marriage. They also took the certificate of marriage. Thus, there is a proper nikahnama and marriage certificate and I don’t know why Adil is denying or shying away from the marriage. Maybe there are some personal reasons,” she further added.
Rakhi Sawant first shot to fame after her infamous row with singer Mika Singh. Since then, she has remained in the headlines for her eccentric take on matters and idiosyncratic behaviour. Rakhi also was a part of ‘Rakhi Ka Swayamvar’, a reality show broadcast on NDTV Imagine. Rakhi has been a part of 3 different seasons of the controversial reality show BiggBoss and its latest Marathi version.
Before Adil Khan Durrani, Rakhi had dated a UK-based NRI businessman named Ritesh Singh with whom she participated in BiggBoss season 15.
The two had claimed to be husband and wife, however, the two parted ways in February last year after, reports emerged that Ritesh Singh is already married.
