Was Rayya Labib offered Bigg Boss 16? Did the actor back out due to personal issues?

MUMBAI: According to a source in the Tv industry grapevine, model and actor Rayya Labib was shortlisted as a participant for Bigg Boss season 16 in July-August last year.

A senior casting director for the show had contacted her and had even offered her an MG (minimum guarantee) of 8 weeks as an incentive to participate in the popular and controversial show.

Rayya who is of Turkish-Iranian origin and was born and brought up in Assam, comes from a military background.

She is not very fluent in either English or Hindi and has language issues, as she studied in the local Assamese language and her parents spoke Turkish among themselves or among relatives who lived abroad.

While she understands English and Hindi very well, she fumbles when it comes to gender, verbs and tense, said her publicist and since she is still polishing up her Hindi and English, post the lock-down, we decided not to do any Tv shows for now.

Speaking to this reporter, Rayya said she is now ready to take on the world. “I have almost learnt Hindi and English now and can face any questions. Yes, In July when I was approached by this casting scout for Bigg Boss 16, I was not ready for it as my language training was going on,” she said.

Rayya is an expert in martial arts having learnt Judo and Taekwondo and has also learnt Indian classical dance like Kathak and Bharat natyam, besides other dance forms. She briefly studied kathak under Padma Shree Kathak Legend the late Sitara Devi ji and considers her the goddess of kathak and the biggest kathak guru that ever lived.

She is a very big fan of Bigg Boss and has never missed a single episode of the show this season.

“I have my reservations about some candidates and their behaviour, but that does not mean I do not like the show. I am the biggest fan of Bigg Boss and have many friends abroad, with whom I share daily updates of the show,” Rayya explained.