How’s life been post-Bigg Boss?

Right after Bigg Boss, I came back to Pakistan and caught up with friends and family. I have been doing a lot of interviews and have also been approached for films, both here and in India. Almost every reality show in India now wants Veena Malik! (Laughs.) I have just signed a contract with India TV to host their cricket World Cup special segment and for that I am really looking forward to being in India next week onwards. I have also got some offers from British television but I can’t really talk about them right now. All in all, it’s been a good month after Bigg Boss.

Bollywood has also shown interest in you…

To be honest, I don’t like the typical song and dance Bollywood films. They are always very male oriented and the heroine is only around for the jhatkas and matkas. I am far more intelligent than that. I know that things are changing now and there are some strong heroine-oriented films, but we have to accept the fact that the hero in a Bolly film will always have a bigger and better role. Even in Pakistan, it’s the same thing. That’s why I haven’t done a Pakistan film in ages, all the films made here are an insult to my talent and intelligence. Frankly, I am not made for all this and so I haven’t signed any of the films that have been offered. I don’t want to be just a Bollywood glam doll. There are many others in the industry who can do that much better than me.

You came into the limelight when you accused your ex-boyfriend Mohd Asif of match-fixing. Now that he has been handed a seven-year ban, do you feel vindicated?

Absolutely! But to be honest, I am a little upset too, because Asif and I were very close at one point of time. Like any other girl of my age, I was madly in love. I kept begging him not to get into wrong company, but he never listened to me. But today I feel proud that I had the guts to stand up and not only take on Asif, but also the PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board).

I was accused… I was threatened… malicious rumours were spread about me… but I stuck to the truth and it is the truth that has prevailed today. Asif sent me emails saying that he would kill me; while I was on Bigg Boss, he called up my family and told them that he would finish us off if I said anything against him on the show. I came out of Bigg Boss and wanted to meet him and ask him why he was doing this. But he didn’t have the balls to face me. Today, I am grateful that Asif is not a part of my life anymore.

The fact that Asif and Salman (Butt) have been punished makes me hopeful that youngsters in Pakistan will now think twice before betraying the country like this. In fact, I think Asif should have got worse. I feel a little bad for (Mohammed) Aamer because he is still so young (18), but I am sure he will come out of this a better person.

I am just very happy that I did my bit towards cleansing cricket. Just like any other Pakistani, I am very passionate about the game. Even on the cricket show that I will be hosting for the World Cup, many will be surprised to see that I understand the technicalities of cricket quite well. If you are looking for a glam doll who will turn up in short dresses and smile at the camera while the men talk about the game, then I suggest you switch to some other show!

Clerics in Pakistan have issued fatwas, terming your behaviour on Bigg Boss “un-Islamic”…

I went into Bigg Boss as Veena Malik the person, not as a representative of Pakistan. Pakistan has always been a hypocritical society — here the rules are different for men and women. A guy can go to India and work there, but if a woman does it, she is immediately branded “un-Islamic”. Just because I am a woman and an actress, does that make me a soft target?

I am an educated and independent woman and I know that I haven’t done anything wrong on the show. Some people here can’t digest the fact that India loves me so much. I was nominated seven times on Bigg Boss and yet managed to last for more than 75 days because the Indian audience kept voting for me.

Today, people like Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Farah Khan are praising me. I have helped foster good relations between the two countries, but no one in Pakistan will acknowledge that. I know my culture, but I know my rights too. Let these people face me and tell me how I have embarrassed the country. I am ready to answer every question of theirs.

Your “closeness” to Ashmit Patel on Bigg Boss went as further as branding the show “adult”…

What the audience got to see was just 45 minutes of a show in which 50 cameras were trained on us 24x7. In a place where we were away from friends and family and everyone was out to get each other, I found a friend in Ashmit. Shweta (Tiwari) and Sameer (Soni) were close, Dollyji (Bindra) and Khaliji were friends, so why single us out? We would probably hug for 10 seconds in the whole day, but the channel would play that up for TRPs. I don’t blame them because the show wouldn’t run if you just showed us shaking hands! But anyone who knows Veena Malik will tell you that I was 100 per cent natural on the show. For me, Bigg Boss was just a game, nothing else. Others compromised their dignity… some even got married, allegedly for money (Sara Khan and Ali Merchant), but I came out of the show with my head held high.

So are Ashmit and you seeing each other?

Absolutely not! We are friends and will always remain friends. I know that many people are saying that I broke off my engagement (with her US-based relative Faisal Akbar Khan) because of Ashmit, but it was over even before I entered Bigg Boss. Ashmit and I talk everyday. He wants to work in Pakistan and I am trying to help him. I travelled to India to attend his birthday party, but people should not read too much into it. I don’t have time for love or marriage now.

But the cameras apparently caught you and Ashmit having sex on Bigg Boss…

This is absolute nonsense! How can people talk about a woman like this? It’s shameful. You think I am so besharam that I will have sex with someone on a TV show? It’s such a beautiful and private emotion. And with Ashmit? Never! The other day I read somewhere that Hrishant (Goswami, another Bigg Boss contestant) and I were making out in the back seat of a car! This is ridiculous and humiliating. Come on, I am not a nymphomaniac!