Actor and former Bigg Boss OTT contestant Avinash Sachdev speaks exclusively to The Pioneer about his stint in the show, his take on some of the controversies around him, and more.
Tejal Sinha
It’s that time of the year again, when all the loyalties of the most controversial show, Bigg Boss, are pondering what they’d do after the season comes to an end. And today is the day when we’ll get the Bigg Boss OTT 2 winner. While the show itself brings new twists every season, the season itself was filled with twists. With people thinking of a single contestant getting evicted just two steps from the finale, a twist of double evictions of Avinash Sachdev and Jad Hadid just astonished fans. Ahead of the finale, we bring to you our chat with actor Avinash, who speaks of his journey, controversies, and more.
“It’s been a remarkable journey,” led off the Choti Bahu actor, taking us through his journey in the Bigg Boss house. “Leaving my career of 18 years in the industry on one side and Bigg Boss on the other, I’ve never shown my real side to anyone or in any of the reality shows. This was a platform given to me for seven weeks where I could show my real side to people, and more than that, people are loving that side. People have said that I have played it in a dignified way, and they are proud of it.”
Ever since the season premiered, there’s been a constant tug of war on social media between the YouTubers group and the actor’s group. In fact, there’s been a constant debate over ‘followers’ on social media. But Avinash had a different closure when he stepped out of the house. Well, let’s hear what he’s going to say: “When it comes to the votes and going down to the followers, I was never a part of that race. I was never active on social media just for the sake of getting followers, but as a part of my work. I know how many followers I have, and getting down to it and the reason I’m being evicted, I can agree, but on the other hand, if I see my game, it’s pretty strong and getting hashtags like gamechanger Avinash. In the end, that’s the only closure I’ve given myself.”
This season has vexed bringing together Avinash Sachdev and Palak Purswani, who have had a long past and are often in discussions about the reason for their breakup. With Palak entering the show and Avinash helping out with the BB money, Palak beyond a doubt won hearts, showing humane nature. However, social media, on the other hand, has been flooded with Palak’s interviews, which speak at odds with him. With every story having two sides, it has been here too: “Palak was a contestant to me. If there was anyone else in the show and I had the maximum amount of money in my hand, I would have definitely helped. On the contrary, I knew it was her dream when it came to Bigg Boss, so I’d definitely help, and I did. When she was evicted the first week, she came out, and in the first round of interviews, she did not say a word about me. She was like she would like to meet me, and in her personal round of interviews after 3 days, I don’t know what happened, what got into her head, but she started blaming me for her dad’s heart attack. Again, the cheat thing came on. So it is of no importance to me, and now I can see that a girl can go to any level and say things that are hardly true. Yes, because my dad and her brother used to talk to each other every 15–20 days because there were some accounts to be settled. Whenever there used to be a chat or phone call, my dad always asked about how their parents were, or when we met at our mutual friends’ parties, I always asked how your parents were, and we even share the same lobby of common friends, so if there was a heart attack, it would have definitely been communicated to me. At that time, I knew her father was not well, and he was admitted to the hospital, but it was never a ‘heart attack’. So why are you playing that heart attack card on your own father? It’s a silly thing to do.”
Initially, a bond that we couldn’t stop adoring was that of Avinash and Jiya. However, things got sour to such an extent that in one of the tasks While Avinash said he wouldn’t want to meet Jiya, she called him his best friend and asked him not to judge her on the basis of the game. But it seems like things have not been well between them even after Jiya’s eviction.
“I don’t know what her intentions were, because at the end, I didn’t understand who the real Jiya was or which side I should believe was the real one because I gave everything; I was all in. I tried to protect and save her through all the tasks. But when it came down to her own personal motivation, I also tried to put her up. But I don’t know what face she has, and at the end also, she was like, You are my real friend, and I will come and meet you, and I was like, We will see it outside, and there’s a world existing outside, so relax. But I haven’t gotten any messages, a WhatsApp message, or a call yet.”
Over the 49 days that he was at Bigg Boss, he says he’s full of gratitude towards his fans, who’ve been the constant ones for the past 15 years. “Fans are the real ones who can make or break people. I’m glad that people now know my real side and they’re proud of me,” he shares, adding, “You need the ‘Shehen-shield-ta’ that I call to deal with that kind of stuff because it’s very easy to lose your anger, especially in that house. I think I have changed as a person over the last few years. I have learned a lot of things through the art of living and being a part of Sudarshan kriya and meditation, which has changed my complete outlook towards life.” We know, just like us, you’re eagerly waiting for the season’s winner, and we too wanted to know who he’s rooting for, and you’d be intrigued because, “There’s one lady with a career of 35 years who has given hits like Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin, and on the contrary, there’s a guy named Elvish Yadav who’s a star of Youtube and has like 15 Million followers, so what would be the real win? I would like to see the reality of where the world has come to.”
But there have been constant brawls between Elvish and Avinash, so how is he rooting for Elvish? He reveals that when the Ayushman Bhava actor approached him, Elvish not only accepted having anger issues but also apologised and even said, ‘Next time I do something like this, you can even come and slap me.’
This not only changed his perception of Elvis but also allowed him to get to know his real side.
As we come to an end, speaking of the rumours of him entering Bigg Boss 17, he says, “I haven’t thought about it, but definitely if they’re going to ask me or meet on the other side of the tables, we will take it forward from there. We will see how it’s going and what options I have at that time.”
