'Mandana is double-faced; won't be surprised if she wins Bigg Boss'

'Had I stayed longer inside the house, the game would have become dirtier. There is no mental peace in the house. The housemates need to understand mental peace; everything is not about fighting and howling.'

Puneet Vashist discusses his short stint in Bigg Boss 9.

Wild card entry Puneet Vashist got eliminated from Bigg Boss 9 last weekend, and it hardly comes as a surprise. The actor was very aggressive and over-confident in his short stint inside the house. 

Puneet, however, did not see it coming.

"It never even occurred to me that I would get evicted," he says. "It was a short stay but enough for me to see the mirror and come out victorious as a better human. I have become more humble, and someone who will not take things for granted." 

"If I had created ashanti in the house, I would have stayed longer," he adds. "I could have interfered people’s business and created fights for the cameras but that’s not my cup of tea. Had I stayed longer inside the house, the game would have become dirtier. There is no mental peace in the house. The housemates need to understand mental peace; everything is not about fighting and howling."

Nothing seemed to work in Puneet's favour in the house, and he drew a lot a criticism for his crazy antics. 

"It is very clear that Mandana (Karimi) is favoured inside the house," he says. "During one of the tasks, she kicked a housemate. Technically, she should have been out of the show for being physical. In season seven, Ajaz Khan was thrown out for getting physical. She has always been praised by everyone. I know she is beautiful but you need to be beautiful from within as well." 

Host Salman Khan questioned Keshwar Merchant when she said there was a certain amount of bias for Mandana. "I felt the same. Mandana is manipulative and double-faced and I won't be surprised if she wins the show," he says.

Puneet feels Keshwar, Prince (Narula) and Suyyash (Rai) are the bullies in the house. "They are playing the dirty game well," he says with a smile.

Aman Verma, on the other hand, is a genuine guy, he feels.

"I have worked with Aman before. He is a sorted and clean. I want him to win," Puneet says. 

Puneet rubbed everyone the wrong way because of his arrogance. Salman slammed him as well for his boasts to the housemates that he had trained Salman and Shah Rukh Khan in their films. 

"Prince labelled me 'abhimaani'," he says. "We were discussing our work, so I told him about my work and experience. Salman Khan didn’t even remember that I was the chief assistant to (choreographer) Ahmed Khan during his film Auzaar. He had been very positive and friendly during the shoot. I had the opportunity to train Shah Rukh Khan during Pardes. Maybe I did not say it in the right tone, there might have been arrogance. Later I realised that knowledge and experience are misinterpreted as ego. I regret saying all that, and thank Salman Khan for killing my ego. I have come out of the house as a better human being."

In the house, Puneet had mentioned that he had rejected a few movies for Bigg Boss. Does he regret taking up the show since he was evicted in 12 days? 

"I had two movie offers, and I'm doing one of them. It's destiny's call. Destiny took me to Bigg Boss and I think this was more important than the two movies because my role has been polished," he says.