Islamabad: Pakistani actress Veena Malik, who was an inmate in season four of Indian TV reality show ‘Big Boss’, has said there was nothing immoral about her relationship with Bollywood actor Ashmit Patel or any other member of the house.
"All criticism of my action is baseless, because it is being hurled without knowing the facts," Veena said in an interview with a channel Friday night.
"I belong to the entertainment industry and have not done anything that I have not done before," she said.
The actress said she was not representing Pakistan on the show but only the entertainment industry.
"I know my limits. I did not wear any revealing clothes or kissed Ashmit or any co-star in the show," she said. "I was there to promote love and a spirit of friendship and have no regrets in doing so."
Responding to a question about her physical intimacy with Ashmit Patel during the show, Veena denied having any such contact.
"I was as close to Ashmit as any other inmate of the house," she said.
"I performed namaz in the Big Boss house and even Ashmit prayed with me," she revealed, and also produced a video to prove her point.
Meanwhile, Ashmit Patel, speaking on the phone from Mumbai during the interview, said that he had prayed because he found the movements in namaz "very much like yoga".
"I don`t believe in religion as such but have respect for all religions and keep collecting information about them," he said, adding that he found peace in performing namaz.
An Islamic cleric, Mufti Abdul Baqi, who also participated in the interview, said: "Veena had shamed all Pakistanis and Muslims with her immoral acts during the show."
"I want to tell her that she has not done justice to her talents by doing something which she can`t watch while sitting with her brother or son in future," he said, asking her to mend her ways.
Veena burst into tears during the interview and said she confronted hostility from other participants like Shweta and Manoj, but the media never supported her.
"It is to my credit that I spent 84 days in the house against all odds," she argued.
Interview host Kamran Shahid concluded the show by saying that most of the Pakistani people think Veena should not have committed such acts, particularly because of the high sensitivity towards the neighbouring country.
Veena Malik had earlier courted controversy because of her alleged relationship with embattled fast bowler Mohammad Asif.
IANS
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