INTERVIEW | Bigg Boss 19 Winner Gaurav Khanna on Equation With Amaal Malik, Offer From Salman Khan and More

‘Slow and steady wins the race’ -- this proverb best describes Bigg Boss Season 19 winner Gaurav Khanna and his journey in the house spanning about four months. Khanna was often labelled by his rivals and his co-contestants as slow, inactive, and someone who played on the back-foot. In fact, in the initial few weeks, even the show host superstar Salman Khan would pull up Khanna for his “laid-back” attitude. ‘Just don’t lie in the house like furniture’, Khan had told Khanna a few times.

However, the show winner considers these negative comments as the turning point in his journey. “When people start questioning my abilities I get more charged up, I get more focused when pushed in a corner. This had happened even during the Celebrity MasterChef show (premiered early this year; Khanna had emerged winner). There, too, people felt I was a misfit for the cookery show. When I entered Masterchef I was not a trained cook, my cooked food was thrown and spat out but then I worked hard every episode, and I reached a certain level. When I entered Bigg Boss house, I realised all the bhasad (chaos/mayhem) and politics started with the kitchen. I understood this and didn’t want to be part of what is not fruitful for my journey in the show. Things were created out of the blue. There were fights over halwa, poha, suji... all this was lying in the house for seven weeks and nobody was looking at it because people who wanted to create ruckus were out of the show,” says Khanna. While Celebrity MasterChef was judged by celebrity chefs Vikas Khanna and Ranveer Brar, Bigg Boss winner is judged on the basis of public votes.

One of the many reasons why Khanna (who is famous for several television serials, most notably his lead role as the suave businessman Anuj Kapadia in Anupamaa, which earned him an Indian Telly Award) got huge support from people, perhaps, was his ability to control his emotions, tackling matters logically and without getting triggered or losing his cool, and maintaining decorum. His win shows you don’t need to plot or fight and that you can play with dignity and grace. Was this his plan or strategy? “I have been like this since my childhood; this has always been my nature. There was no such plan, that is how I am in real life. Things that I don’t want to do in front of my parents, my wife... I would definitely not want to do it in front of others because the show is being watched by so many people, even kids and elderly. I won’t do things that I don’t do in real life.” he says.

Khanna furthers, “Many of the Bigg Boss participants misunderstand the show. They come with the preconceived notion that you have to behave in a certain manner, you have to wear a particular kind of clothes, talk in a certain accent, but it doesn’t work like that. I believe that you become a superstar and become popular because of your work, but you can’t leave person that you are, and for four months you can’t lead a false life where you are wearing so much jewellery, long dresses. It is a personality show where you have to be real. Most importantly, it is a mind game, anybody with a stable and strong mind who doesn’t get triggered can be the winner. Many of my co-contestants in the Bigg Boss house didn’t understand that the show is like a marathon; you don’t run at super speed in the beginning. It is a 15-week show, whereas they felt it was a 15-minute show. Some of them ran at super speed and got exhausted soon, and they were out of the show. That is where they lost the plot.”

“More than noise, you need the right voice, but many in Bigg Boss come to make a lot of noise, not many people understand this... they feel happy that they made so much noise that they are being talked about in the Weekend Ka Vaar. I used to be happy when I wasn’t spoken to during the weekend because if I was doing something wrong then Salman would point out. He did tell me three to four times and I understood what he meant, therefore I tweaked what I was doing. I played the game; it is in the same way as how I approach life. I take things easy; I take things slow. I think before speaking, and I won’t say things for which I will have to say sorry later on. I didn’t want to demean or body-shame or do backbiting. This win proves that people want to see a good and right person as a winner who talks about the right issues in a dignified manner. When you win hearts, you win a show, it is very simple. Salman had told us that no contestant who has done a lot of bhasad (chaos or mayhem) has won the show, but they didn’t heed his advice,” he further adds.

‘GK (short for Gaurav Khanna) Kya Karega’ was repeatedly mouthed by his rivals on the show to irk and trigger him, implying that he didn't know how to play the game, “But GK won hearts and also the show and the trophy. If you are jealous, he will make you more jealous. Not just with words but with good work,” laughs Khanna. Even after his win, some of his co-contestants like Tanya Mittal, Farrhana Bhatt and Zeishan Quadri were seen calling Khanna an undeserving winner, however, dismissing all the noise around his win, the actor says, “Well, crores of people have found me deserving, so I don’t care how one or two feel. I don’t have anything to do with them. I never took them seriously on the show, so why would I do that now? But Farrhana herself clapped for me on stage, so what do I say?”

When asked the reason for the other housemates to be against him and whether they felt he was a strong contender right from the beginning, to which Khanna responds saying, “They plotted against me and nominated me every week, they didn’t allow me to become the captain; they strategised… I knew all this would happen with me, but their problem was that I responded the way I wanted to, I didn’t react when they wanted to or in the manner they wanted to. When the show started, I realised in one or two weeks that people were doing pointless things, fighting over unnecessary issues, they were seen fighting over eggs that I don’t eat... so let them fight. Why would I get into that? I purposely didn’t enter the kitchen in the beginning; I entered in the sixth or seventh week, and after that I never left the kitchen. I wanted to play the way I wanted to, and I guess that was bothering them.”

Khanna and co-contestant and music composer Amaal Malik’s equation on the show was pretty interesting, with latter showing ‘respect’ towards Khanna on face while bitching and calling him manipulative behind his back, to which Khanna laughs saying, “Amaal is a very talented composer. I have a good mutual respect towards him because I always respect talent. Now, it is a controversial show and people would like to play the game they want to play. I am a different player; I would speak on the face. In fact, when Amaal was evicted, before leaving, he lightly tapped me on my shoulder and said I was the winner. He is a good guy. He was part of another group, and when you are part of a group, things happen. He doesn’t mean the things he said. As long as he didn’t say anything to my face, it didn’t matter to me.”

And one of the most special moments for Khanna was Salman Khan, who was impressed with his "game" and behaviour on the show, offering to work with him. “When Salman said that, I felt let’s grab this moment; this doesn’t come again and again. Whenever he calls me, I will definitely go and work with him," says Khanna, sounding excited. Farrhana Bhatt and Pranit More ended their journey in the second and third place, respectively, followed by Tanya Mittal and Amaal Mallik.

Read More

1. INTERVIEW | Ashnoor Kaur Opens Up On 'Abrupt' Eviction Before Bigg Boss 19 Finale, Denies Hurting Tanya Mittal In 'Violent Act'
2. Kunickaa Sadanand Interview: Evicted Bigg Boss 19 contestant Says Even If Gaurav Khanna Is 'Superstar,' She Wants Farhana Bhatt to Win