10 things Payal Rohatgi said in Cobrapost defence

Mumbai: In the Real Dirty Picture of Bollywood, CNN-IBN's sting operation Cobrapost exposed the large-scale presence of black money in Bollywood. Recorded videos of established directors like Anubhav Sinha, Vashu Bhagnani, Anees Basmi and Rajeev Kaul, Sandeep Marwah, and actors like Aarti Chhabria's parents and Payal Rohatgi with boyfriend Sangram Singh were broadcasted on television openly asking for black money. It created a storm of reactions in the film industry.

Rohatgi grew up in Hyderabad and came to Mumbai as an aspiring actress. She acted in a few ad films and music videos until her first Bollywood debut in Harry Baweja's Yeh Kya Ho Raha Hai, a remake of American Pie. Since then, she's done cameos in films like Plan, Police Force, Rakth, 36 China Town. In the critically acclaimed film Corporate, Rohatgi did an item number after which she was offered roles as a second lead in films like Dhol, Ugly Aur Pagli and Dil Kabaddi. But it was in the Second Season of Big Boss in 2008 that she came in the limelight, surrounded by a handful of controversies.

We picked out 10 things that Payal Rohatgi and her partner and wrestler Sangram Singh said in their defence that they should have rather not.

10 things Payal Rohatgi said in Cobrapost defence

10 things that Payal Rohatgi and her partner and wrestler Sangram Singh said in defence of the Cobrapost expose.

1. Sangram: I am a professional wrestler, and won an award 2 months back. Where was your sting operation when I was struggling, when I had no money, no fame.

2. Payal: This person kept harassing us, calling our strategic manager and Sangram since the past 6 months. He never called on my phone.

3. Sangram: When I spoke to this guy he started asking me if I could introduce him to Vidya Balan and Subhash Ghai. I am just one month old in Bombay, obviously I don't know these celebrities. I just found it funny and wanted to see who this guy is.

4. Sangram: The guy took the reference of a politician named R K Sharma in Haryana.

Payal: Sangram comes from north India and is rooted with people there. He knows them on a one on one basis. So he just wanted to find out if this guy was a fake.

5. Sangram: I am a down to earth guy. I work hard and even provide for 30 to 40 children. I don't need this guy's money.

6. Payal (cross-questions the TV correspondent): Do you live in a rented apartment or do you own your property?

7. Payal: I am a law abiding citizen. All my IT papers, my income tax have been filed to perfection so I am not scared to come here and give my opinion about the tape that you have been showing. Regarding the white money and the black money, we were trying to nab this fraud because this fraud was irritating us and our managers since last 6 months.

8. Payal: This will be a lesson for Sangram to not trust anyone in the industry. We had a fight 6 months ago about the same. He has a trusting nature because he is a simple man. He likes to meet people. It's not a bad quality, it's a good quality. This was just the case of one rotten apple in a basket.

9. Sangram: I just wanted to see who he is, after that we'd decide whether to make him do uthak bethak (sit-ups), lock him in a room or take him to the police. I am against corruption and can die for the country.

10. Payal: We are not apologising. We did nothing wrong. This person used Sangram to get access to us.