She’S attracting suitors far and wide in her televised ‘swayamvar’, and now starlet Rakhi Sawant has earned yet another prospective groom from the remote village of Panzgam of Kupwara district. Booming guns and frequent encounters between militants and security forces have not deterred 33-year-old Athar Parvez, a Crime Branch constable, who has left his uniform for a sherwani to woo his heartthrob.

While Parvez is away in Udaipur to coax and cajole Sawant, his friend Iqbal Ahmad is in disbelief. “Parvez told me some time ago that he had filled an online application to participate in a show where Rakhi will choose her groom, but I did not take him seriously,” said Iqbal. He, however, admits that Parvez has been a Rakhi fan for long. “He loves her. This show has given him a chance to fulfill his dream. I hope he comes back married.”

Parvez’s family is equally supportive. “Everyone took it as a joke when he told us that he wants to marry Rakhi, but later, seeing his seriousness, we allowed him to participate in the show,” said brother Javid Ahmad.“We have no objections if he returns married,” Iqbal added.

In the show Rakhi ka Swayamvar, Bollywood ‘item’ dancer Rakhi Sawant will be wooed by 16 men competing to be her husband.