Does Rakhi Sawant deserve your sympathy?

Viewers of TV chat show Koffee With Karan saw an oft repeated scene in Bollywood last Sunday - when "item girl" Rakhi Sawant broke down and got emotional in her defense. This is a road that has been traveled many a time by Bollywoods item girls, when they claim their innocence. Rakhi Sawant is not new to accusations of this kind. It all started with the Mika kiss, was prolonged by her Kohlapur antics and now she has been opposed because she shot an advertisement for a soap company in which she bathed in front of a Buddha statue.

She said herself that she has been attacked by the media who have ruthlessly coined her an item girl. The fact of the matter is that she does all of it with great pride. She might sob about being ridiculed for it but in the end she will continue to do it despite whoever says whatever. She also mentioned during the show that she has worked hard to come to where she is in the industry. Well we all agree that she has worked hard in indeed. But how hard does one have to work to accomplish a sexist image like the one she has?
She is not alone in this endeavour. Her partners in crime Sherlyn Chopra aka Mona Chopra has also made drastic comments about the press and people in general demeaning her. She recently claimed in an interview that she was a serious actress and not an item girl - which was the last serious movie she did? Of course there are others who carry the item girl tag with grace - take Kareena Kapoor and Mallika Sherawat for instance. They have gone past it and have made respectable actress out of themselves - and they are doing great movies now.

So does Rakhi Sawant deserve the sympathy (aka respectability) that she seems to be asking for. She herself said that people who used to despise her give her a lot more respect that they used because they heard that she was coming on Koffee With Karan. Any other takers?