Sanchita Bhattacharya

L’il Champ Sanchita Bhattacharya of Howrah is back in the arena — this time, with her seniors. Zee TV’s new reality show Ek Se Badhkar Ek (beamed on weekends at 7.30pm) pits the teenager against older contestants like Raja Hassan, Aneek Dhar and Sumedha Karmahe.

“I know I am the youngest of the lot. They also keep mentioning that on the show. I am giving it my best shot. If I am voted out, so be it but I do not want sympathy on account of my age,” the 16-year-old says during a trip to Calcutta.

Sanchita has already made it to the top six of the show, along with her dancing partner Kushal Punjabi. “Our biggest competitors are Raja Bhaiya’s (Raja Haasan and Jasveer Kaur) and Abhishek Bhaiyya’s teams (Abhishek Awasthi and Sumedha).”

Sanchita admits liking Rakhi Sawant’s boyfriend but is upset with attempts of a linkup. “Have I lost my mind?” But she prefers to stay unfazed. “I chat with him as much as I used to.” No, Rakhi has not paid a visit to the sets but Sanchita loves listening to Abhishek speak about her. “He says that she is more like his child than his lover. She calls him Papa and he calls her Guddu.”

Her partner Kushal is another man her name is being linked to. “He is 31. Let’s see how much older that makes him,” she says, starting a finger count. “Fifteen years — old enough to be my dadu!” Kushal also happens to be close to Purbi Joshi, another participant. “They could be friends though,” she adds as an afterthought.

This is her third reality show but Sanchita clearly has still not got used to being targeted by gossip columns. “I may have become famous but I still have feelings,” she pleads.

Sanchita has been going strong but for the last round in which Jackie Shroff was a guest on the show. “Every time he is there I trip. I don’t know why. Even in his L’il Champ episode, I forgot some lyrics.”

Though she is the singer of Jodi no. 6 , Sanchita wants to do some dancing too. “I had learnt Bharatanatyam.”

As she progresses on the show, one concern looms large. “I am in Class XI but I have not purchased a single text book, leave alone attend a class. I can’t event remember what subjects I opted for,” the student of Chatterjee Haat Girls School in Howrah says, her forehead furrowing. For now, she has to follow a musical syllabus.