'There was no love angle between Manveer and me in Bigg Boss'

'I get shy when people flirt or be playful. I blush and start doing silly things. That doesn’t mean Manveer and I were attracted to each other. It was just fun.'

Bigg Boss contestant Nitibha Kaul clears the air.

After surviving Bigg Boss for almost 13 weeks, Kashmiri girl Nitibha Kaul has been evicted.

Nitibha entered the house as a commoner, which a lot of confidence to make it big on the show. Having quit a high-profile job at Google, she put a lot of things at stake to be a part of one of India’s most popular reality shows.

Nitibha's chemistry with Manveer Gurjar was the highlight of the season. To some, it seemed like a lasting friendship while to others, it looked like a friendship of convenience.

Unfortunately, their friendship turned sour when the M3 gang (Mona, Manveer and Manu) reunited.

As Nitibha grew apart from M3, she found solace in Bani.

Here, she tells Rediff.com contributor Rajul Hegde more about her stint in the house. 

Are you disappointed?

I was there in the house for 91 days, so I'm going through mixed emotions.

I am happy that I will meet my family but sad because I could not make it to the finale. I will miss the house and the people in it. 

Did you expect to survive in the house so long?

I am happy that I did. If you go by fan followings, I thought I won’t have the numbers to support me.

I grabbed the immunity Medallion after the third week and had a good graph. I kept doing tasks and participating in everything that came my way. I was happy that I could perform and showcase myself but I did not fight unnecessarily. I believe in being positive and staying calm. 

Do you think Bigg Boss was worth leaving the Google job?

Yes, for sure!

If I am leaving my job and going on a show which is being watched by 40 crore people across the world... it's a big opportunity to showcase myself, since I was always interested in the entertainment industry. It was a good break. People like Gaurav Chopra, Bani and Rahul Dev have worked in the industry for years. Imagine me standing in the same position as them! It's a big thing, right? 

Do you think visibility on the show will help you to get work in the industry?

I don’t think I want to go back to the corporate world. I want to be in the entertainment industry.

If someone thinks I am fit for a certain kind of role, I am game.  

Initially, you were caught between celebrities and commoners. Whom did you identify with?

I wasn't really active the first two weeks because I could not understand Manveer, Manu Punjabi and Priyanka Jagga. They were from a different background.

I was getting along with celebrities but that time, it was commoners versus celebrities. I was trying to balance it as much as I could.

In the beginning, I could only connect with Akanksha Sharma because both of us are from Delhi. Slowly, I realised everyone is good at heart and I started enjoying their company. 

Who do you think was wrong in the recent scuffle between Bani and Lopa?

It was so immature of them to fight -- it could have easily been avoided. They could have done the task without being so personal and nasty.  

Lopa went to the next level. She was mean and vicious, saying things like Bani has done a lip job. She brought her mother into the conversation.

It seemed very silly coming from someone, who is holding a beauty pageant crown. She has a responsibility towards the audience. It doesn’t look good on her organisation.

Sometimes you say things that you don’t mean and I think that’s what happened.

Bani got physical with Lopa, which was also not cool. You have to be mentally strong and deal with all of this stuff. 

Salman Khan once called Bani ‘sweetheart’ even when she was breaking rules and she even retorted, 'Are you kidding me?' to him. You expressed your displeasure to Mona. 

Yes. If someone senior like him is saying something, you have to respect his point of view and understand it. Even if you don't respect it, just express it in a subtle or polite way. Saying something like ‘Are you kidding me’ makes it looks like you don't care about the other person's opinion. I know that is not the case, Bani respects him, but her choice of words could have been better. 

Did you feel left out because he was calling her ‘sweetheart'?

It is natural to feel left out because there were times in the weekend episodes when Salman would not converse much with me and give a lot of attention to Bani. 

Your friendship with Manveer looked like a strategy to survive in the game. Was the love real or fake?

If I had to build a fake friendship just for the game, I would have done that much before. But I became friends with Manveer after eight weeks.

I used to speak to everyone but wasn’t friends with anyone because it didn’t happen naturally. When it happened with Manveer, I gave it my all and it was a great journey with him. It was a cute kind of equation.

I get shy when people flirt or be playful. I blush and start doing silly things. That doesn’t mean we were attracted to each other. It was just fun.

They show two-four minutes of footage from the entire day’s happenings and it must have got misconstrued. There was no love angle. Maybe people wanted to see a love angle because there was not much after the Mona and Manu episode. 

What did you think of Mona?

Mona is the least deserving contestant on the basis of performance. I don’t see her as a winner. She would neither take part in the tasks nor be interested in winning the captaincy. It seems she was there only for the experience, not to win the show.

She has mass support since she has done many films in Bhojpuri and other regional languages.

Also, if you are friends with Manu and Manveer, it’s natural that their supporters will save her. 

What do you have to say about the Salman Khan?

He is a brilliant and perfect host. He feels so strongly about so many different things which happen in the house. It feels really great that he is involved in everyone's contribution to the game.

Swami Om and Priyanka Jagga were asked to leave the house.

We should ignore such people. If we give any importance to them, they will voice their silly opinions even more. It's not important for us to give them any footage or publicity. 

What do you think will win?

Manveer and Bani will be in the finale.

I would like to see Manveer win, as he has a strong fan support. They will support him. People get attracted to a personality like him. And he plays from the heart. 

Will you stay in touch with the contestants?

Yes, except Om Swami Om and Priyanka Jagga.

I connected with everyone but I bonded well with Akanksha and Manveer.

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