Karishma Tanna talks about Upen Patel, her equation with Gautam Gulati and her eventful journey in the Bigg Boss house
Chaya Unnikrishnan (DNA; February 2, 2015)

Since Day One of Bigg Boss 8, Karishma Tanna captured eyeballs for her sartorial sense. Her fight with Gautam Gulati got her into focus, her choosing make-up over releasing Sushant Divgikar from slave duties made her unpopular among the housemates. She created a sense of intrigue by constantly talking about being in a committed relationship and took everyone by surprise by accepting Upen Patel’s proposal. She all but tipped the scales from Gautam Gulati to her in the race for votes but finally lost the battle and emerged as the runner-up...

You could have been the winner. Are you happy being the runner-up?
I would have been happier if I had won the show, but it’s okay. Life doesn’t end here. Whoever has reached till here has won. I feel I am a winner myself. I tried my best, par abhi toh picture baaki hai.

Have you made peace with Gautam Gulati?
Yes, relations change every day. He kind of abused me, and I didn’t like it. He wanted to blame me for some or the other reason. Plus, I found him to be very childish. I had forgotten things and my personality is such that after I have a fallout with someone, I forget it, grow in life and move on. However, he always brought it up and irritated me one way or another. In the end, all became good, because he didn’t bring up the topic and neither did I. We became friends.

Do you see any changes in yourself?
Yes, I have become more patient and more positive. I have realised that I should not be too stubborn and learn to relax.

Who would you consider your friend from the show?
Except for Upen (Patel), I didn’t find any real friends in the show. Upen is the only guy whom I trust.

What about Dimpy? You had become good friends with her before things turned sour...
Yes, but that happens between friends. We fought and came back together. I feel everyone’s good in
their own way, but it’s the situation that makes you a little negative or bad. We managed to get out of all that and patch up again after fights.

Do you blame Rahul Mahajan for things straining between you and Dimpy?
Yes, he spoke bulls**t, said things he is not supposed to. He said unnecessary things to me, to Dimpy and in front of the camera. I don’t know what he was up to but he disrespected me and Dimpy.

You even seem to have had issues with Salman Khan as we saw in the show. Did you ever feel he is being unfair to you?
It was his job to be a good host. Salman is a strong opinionated man and we had a difference of opinion. It’s not necessary that whatever he spoke was right or whatever I said was right. Sometimes our opinions matched, sometimes they didn’t. But where he had to support me, he did.

Did things go wrong with your boyfriend Rushabh Choksi after you had entered the show, or were relations strained from before?
I have talked enough about him in the show. I have taken the right decision, but now I don’t want to speak about it. I have been really grilled and judged in the show and I am done with it.

Are you taking your relationship with Upen Patel forward, now that you are away from the cameras?
Yes, definitely. Our feelings for each other and the relationship, all of it is genuine. I want to see how my life goes on with him.

The astrologer who visited the house said your relationship with Upen won’t last...
I don’t believe in all that. I make my own destiny.