Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 15, 2018)

Salman Khan, who recently admitted that his last TV turn, as the host of the gameshow Dus Ka Dum, didn’t perform as expected, is presumably upping the ante for his next.

In a new twist for the upcoming 12th season of Bigg Boss, which Salman hosts, four contestants are gearing up to enter the house even before the show goes on air. The two jodis in question are former Roadies contestants Kriti Verma and Surbhi Rana, along with commoners Roshmi Banik and Mittal Joshi. The foursome will be introduced by Salman. Even before that, the TV audience will get a glimpse of the inmates during the final episode of Madhuri Dixit’s talent hunt show, Dance Deewane.

Surbhi, a dentist-turned-reality show regular, told Mirror, “I feel like I’ve been preparing for this all my life. I’ve seen a lot of failures, but I never give up. I come from a small village in Himachal Pradesh. Later, when we moved to a town, I was bullied because of my Hindi medium background. I have had to struggle my way up.”

When prodded about her jodidar and fellow Roadies alumna Kriti, Surbhi admitted that they have had a bitter-sweet equation so far. “We used to be rivals but then we got to know each other better. She’s outspoken and honest and I like that,” she said.

Kriti, who is a GST officer by profession, agreed that she and Surbhi are a little “high pitched”. “But we’re both honest which is why we fight,” she explained, adding that Hina Khan and Shilpa Shinde are her favourite ex-Bigg Boss inmates.

Joining them are two commoners from Kolkata — 26-year-old Roshmi Banik who runs an events management business and Mittal Joshi, a makeup artist who recently moved to Mumbai.


Kolkata girls Roshmi and Mittal; reality show alums Surbhi and Kriti