Neha Maheshwri (BOMBAY TIMES; January 16, 2018)

Shilpa Shinde, TV’s original Angoori bhabhi, emerged the winner of Bigg Boss 11, on Sunday night. It was her straightforwardness that propelled her to victory. From locking horns with her arch-nemesis Vikas Gupta — their rivalry began two years ago — and then warming up to him; being at loggerheads with fellow inmate Hina Khan, to becoming ‘ShilMa’ to Arshi Khan and Akash Dadlani, the audience witnessed several but real shades of Shilpa, whose sole reason to participate on the show was to show her true self to the world. Here are excerpts from her candid chat with BT after the win...

‘HINA IS ARROGANT AND MEAN’
The actress says that she wanted Hina in the final two, to compete with her for the trophy. She says, “I was hoping for her to be the other contestant when I win the show.” The actress couldn’t strike a chord with Hina, though we saw them team up against Vikas just before the show reached its final leg. So, can two actresses never be friends? With her characteristic bluntness, Shilpa replies, “Many actresses have been friends, but Hina is different. She is arrogant and really mean. I will have to think hard to count the good things about her; I haven’t been able to find any till now. When we entered the house, she seemed to know everything about the show, as she has followed every single season. So, I asked her if we could keep our belongings in the drawer and she replied, ‘Mere papa ka show hai kya?’ I was shocked at her response. She would say mean things and then claim that she has never said it. Hina commented on my dress sense and said that I can’t pull off Western clothes. It’s up to me; If I don’t want to wear Western clothes, I won’t. Actually, unko lomdi (vixen) bola tha show mein kisi ne. Though I felt bad for her in the beginning, eventually, I couldn’t agree more with that term. Hina is probably the only person I won’t meet outside.”

Shilpa adds, “I was really fond of that girl. I thought she was pretty and liked her work. But many people, including the technicians of her show, had warned me to be careful of her. Many told me, ‘Hina Khan aa rahi hai show mein, bahut chaalaak hain’.”

‘EVERYTHING IS FINE BETWEEN VIKAS AND ME’
While her equation with Hina wasn’t good, Shilpa actually mended ties with her archrival, fellow contestant Vikas Gupta. She says, “Vikas has been a good player and his journey on the show was interesting. I think I was also instrumental in making it interesting, though I don’t know if he will give me the credit. After locking horns with Vikas in the beginning, there came a time when I handled the matter maturely and took a back seat. However, people viewed that too with suspicion, wondering how I could become friends with him in just two days. What people didn’t notice was that Vikas was trying to be nice to me since day one, but I didn’t reciprocate.”

There were even stories of her marriage with Vikas when they were inside the house. “It’s a joke. Mere itne bure din aaye hain kya?” she asks.

Shilpa says that she wouldn’t even mind collaborating with Vikas professionally. “Everything is fine between us. During a task, he promised to cast me on a show. Since I have committed, I will work with him, but I don’t want to take up a daily soap and be bound by a character. I hope I get good work in Bollywood. I had signed a film, but they were waiting for Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s dates. I entered the house during that time.”

‘SALMAN JI KE LIYE KUCHH BHI KAROONGI’
Apart from her fans who broke Twitter in her support, the one person who praised her on multiple occasions was the host himself — Salman Khan. Has he offered her anything yet? “He hasn’t offered or promised me anything yet. Also, we haven’t got a chance to speak about it. I have no qualms about asking Salman for work; I feel I can ask him directly. But then, I have never asked anyone for work. His support is enough for me. He praised me and said that we will meet. He had such nice things to tell me. He said that I am a really nice person, which is such a good feeling.”

So, will the television bhabhi agree to play Salman’s bhabhi in a film and pat comes the reply, “Salman ji ke liye kuchh bhi karoongi, anything!”

‘I HAVE BEEN CALLED MAA AND IT’S A THANKLESS JOB’
About her graduation from bhabhiji to ShilMa, Shilpa says, “It’s been a great journey and I have been my real self. Many people had issues with me cooking in the kitchen. However, I would like to say that on days when food wasn’t enough, I have skipped my meal and fed others. I cooked again if it got over. Hina once mentioned that she would recommend the future Bigg Boss participants to learn cooking, if they wanted to win the show. I got the title of ShilMa because of my honesty; I don’t know if they used it for their game or wanted to show me as old, which even Salman Khan mentioned once on the show. He said, ‘Aapko maa bol kar aapka istemaal kiya gaya hai, game ke liye, ki aap badi dikhe’. I never hid my age, though. I couldn’t understand the real intention, but I was happy with the title. I have been called Maa and it’s a thankless job. But it’s wisely said that one shouldn’t expect anything. Duniya ka dastoor hai ki neki kar dariya mein daal.”

Remind her how the gharwaale called her ‘flip’ during the show and she says, “Gharwale khud flip the isliye main flip dikhti thi unko. I don’t know when I flipped.” She adds, “People who know me know main kaisi hoon. That’s the reason I entered the house with Salman mouthing his famous dialogue: ‘Ye dil mein aati hai samajh mein nahi’. I don’t have many friends in the industry, but jo mujhe jaante hain unhe pata hai main kaisi hoon. People used to say usko chhedo mat, shaant hai woh. Meri satakti hai toh satakti hai. Aata maajhi satakli.”

‘I WANT TO SEEK DIVINE BLESSINGS’
And just as the victory is sinking in, we ask her what she plans to do with the cash prize of Rs 44 lakh and she replies, “Laddoo milega toh sab mein batega. Honestly, I haven’t thought about it yet. The first thing I am going to do is visit a Hanuman temple. I want to seek divine blessings.”