Kunickaa Sadanand Interview: Evicted Bigg Boss 19 contestant Says Even If Gaurav Khanna Is 'Superstar,' She Wants Farhana Bhatt to Win

Bollywood actor Kunickaa Sadanand who has been away from the limelight for 12 years has found fame once again as a contestant in the controversial reality show Bigg Boss. Sadanand who had emerged as one of Bigg Boss Season 19’s strongest contenders, was evicted from the show just two weeks before the grand finale. The 61-year-old actress is happy to have survived in the game for so long, but what made her most happy was host-Salman Khan applauding her for her journey on the show. “I have known Salman for 18-19 years, it was great that I could interact with him again during Bigg Boss. Absolutely no problem with him calling me out for my mistakes... all that is welcome,” says Sadanand.

Talking about her experience and learnings during her stay in the house that brings out the worst in people causing emotional distress due to intense and stressful environment, Sadanand says, “In my life I have never done so much introspection ever the way I did in the Bigg Boss house, essentially about my behaviour. I had a lot of (false) perceptions about myself that I am a very correct person, that I will never be badtameez with anyone, or that nobody can make me angry or trigger me, that I am very much in control of my emotions... and that I have reached such a position where I know my truth so nobody can hurt me... all these things have got completely destroyed; all of that got bhasm (reduced to ashes) in the Bigg Boss house (laughs). I realised that even now I have to work a lot on myself.”

“I also realized that Gen Z and millennials are so different. I would consider myself sensitive, but in that area also I felt I overreacted, which is not good; ideally, one should respond and not react,” she further said.

Besides her numerous fights with co-contestants, Sadanand was especially referring to her comment on co-contestant and wild card entry Malti Chahar. During an episode, Sadanand was seen discussing Chahar’s sexuality with fellow contestant Tanya Mittal; the remark sparked outrage among viewers and eventually became a major point of contention on the show. Host Salman Khan heavily reprimanded Sadanand during a Weekend Ka Vaar episode, calling her insensitive for commenting on someone's personal life and sexuality on national television. Sadanand was also confronted by Chahar’s brother, cricketer Deepak Chahar when he entered the house to meet his sister, and while initially Sadanand tried to defend her comments before apologising, she later begged the show host not to show a clip where she spoke about Chahar’s sexual preference.

“I regret my comment, and I apologised to Malti, Deepak and the entire family for the remark I made. If the Chahar family is hurt, it is my duty and responsibility to ask for an apology,” says Sadanand.

For some time now, before Sadanand entered the Bigg Boss house in August, she was seen openly discussing her failed marriages and her live-in relationship with singer Kumar Sanu. Similarly, she was seen broaching these topics in the Bigg Boss house with her co-contestants to which she says, “I spoke about my personal life usually in the flow while talking to Neelam (Giri), Gaurav (Khanna), or Farhana (Bhatt). The idea was to teach the other contestants about boundaries and not over-expecting. It was nothing intentional; my agenda was never to degrade anyone. I have always spoken about my past life with bebaaki (fearlessly), so I didn’t have any worries or pressure on that front.” “My 40-year journey in Bollywood has been very interesting because of my relationships, marriages, then playing vamp roles, and now suddenly everybody woke up and realised I was very much around,” added Sadanand best known for her roles in movies like Beta, Gumraah, and Khiladi.

Sadanand sees Farhana (an actress from Srinagar, Kashmir known for her roles in films like Laila Majnu and Notebook, as well as TV shows like Rakshak - India's Braves) as the winner. “I would like Farhana to be the winner. That is why I said the trophy should go to Kashmir,” says the evicted contestant.

Tell her that television actor Gaurav Khanna, who is being called the "mastermind" of Bigg Boss 19 by viewers, is getting immense support and that Khan also gave him the superstar tag, Sadanand shoots back saying, “So what? Even if Gaurav is the superstar, I would still want Farhana to be the winner. She has come into the industry and has now reached the Bigg Boss house with great difficulty and struggles; her journey has been tough.” Sadanand, who perceives Khanna’s quiet tactics as manipulative, says, “Yes, Gaurav is a mastermind, he knows how to manipulate people, and if the audience is loving him, then he can become a winner. Let the audience decide.”

Sadanand further stated that she sees both Gaurav Khanna and Bollywood composer-contestant Amaal Mallik making it to the top 5 and further expressed admiration for Tanya Mittal, calling her ambitious albeit fake. Mittal has often been mocked for creating a fake image on the show.

Addressing the claims of favouring Amaal Mallik, Sadanand says, “I don’t know why there is so much negative feedback towards Amaal. I could see that he was going through turbulent times when he entered the show. He is never given any preference; Salman would scold him every weekend, and he would break down. There was suppressed aggression in his personality that came out, and I also told him to respect his legacy. After his father came on the show, there was a turning point, and he stopped being aggressive.”

Further, talking about viewer accusations of bias prevalent in the current Bigg Boss 19 season, mirroring a common pattern in the show's history, Sadanand signing off, says, “What narrative the makers want to set is in their hands. It is like when you do a film, the final edit stays in the hands of the producer. Similarly, when you sign up for a reality show, you have to accept the final edit. There are many things that we do in the house in 24 hours, but what is aired is selective. It all depends upon the narrative the makers want to set and what the audience would like and get entertained with. They have a responsibility towards their audience, so there is no question of unfairness.”

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