As a first-time mother, actor Kishwer Merchant Rai is always overwhelmed by every little move by her newborn, and admits that embracing motherhood has been a roller coaster ride.

Kishwer welcomed her first child, a baby boy, Nirvair, with her husband Suyyash Rai on August 27. “Every time, I see his face, I forget about all the things,” she tells us.

Ask her about the story behind picking the name, and she says that it came to her one night. “I used to have sleepless nights when Suyyash had Coronavirus, as he used to be in another room. One night, while listening to Ek Onkar, I messaged him the name, and he loved it.”

At the moment, Kishwer is on a road to recovery after the C-section delivery. Opening up about it, the 40-year-old says, “A woman’s body goes through so much in these nine months, and then comes a C-section. Then, you have to feed the baby, and there is no production of milk on the first three days. You get frustrated, on top of it, you feel people are judging you ki breast milk nahin de pa rahe ho.”

She adds: “After delivery, you can go into postpartum depression. That’s why it is important to be happy, but how? Because if you can't do anything for your child, you can’t be happy. But everything is fine now, I am back home, eating well and he is also fine.”

Amid these happy emotions, there are some overwhelming moments, too. “If I’m cradling him and he is still crying, I get emotional. I get anxious. There are many things which I will learn as I explore motherhood,” she concludes.

You can be certain that wherever the Bigg Boss contestants' head, they take their ego clashes with them. Three months after the show's finale aired, former inmate Mandana Karimi walked into the Colors annual bash with producer-boyfriend Gaurav Gupta and looked right through the other leggy women who had recently shared a roof with her.

Kishwer Merchant and Suyyash Rai also arrived together, wearing their hearts on their sleeves and didn't stir from each others' sides. The same cannot be said for former housemates-turned lovers-turned strangers, Armaan Kohli and Tanishaa Mukerji.

Tanishaa who made an eye-catching statement in a tangerine, two-tone gown with cutouts walked out as soon as her ex walked in. This didn't bother Armaan who was generous with his jadoo ki jhappis, hugging everyone from Gautam Gulati who looked like a green horn in a velvet suit to actor-host Arjun Kapoor who seemed happy to re-unite with the Khatron Ke Khiladi team. In fact, Armaan was the last celeb to leave the venue in the wee hours, in high spirits after shaking a leg.

The annual bash celebrating completion of eight successful years for the channel was a star-studded event hosted at a suburban five star. Varun Dhawan was the first to arrive and was immediately branded with a Brand Ambassador Award. On his way out he bumped into Anil Kapoor who is always willing to do a “My name is Lakhan“ on the red carpet. The two looked stylishly similar in navy blue checked suits and seemed to be telling each other “Check me out mate!“ Aditi Rao Hydari in a fuchsia gown and Huma Qureshi in an LBD made smashing hit-and-miss appearances. TV Czarina Ekta Kapoor arrived on time, hand-in-hand with actress Anita Hassanandani. Anita's actor-entrepreneur hubby Rohit Reddy tagged along with Jeetendra.

We got a jhalak of Madhuri Dixit too who was escorted by hubby Dr Sriram Nene and spent time chatting with co-judge Karan Johar whose shoes glittering in pink and gold sequins stole the spotlight from all the high heels around. No wonder Arjun stuck to tamer tan leather shoes.

Ayushmann Khurrana dropped by late in the night after wrapping up another SoBo event featuring Ranveer Singh but Malaika Arora Khan, currently in the news for her split with hubby Arbaaz Khan, gave the bash a miss. Ditto for Salman Khan and Kapil Sharma who has broken away to launch his own show on a rival channel.

So it was no Comedy Night but still a Colorful one!

In the first episode, none of the contestants wanted to partner with you. Did you expect to reach this far?
I never cared what any of them thought about me. The audience, especially youngsters, loved me. I gave my all to the tasks and successfully changed people's perception of me.

You first proposed to Yuvika Chaudhary on the show and later romanced Nora Fatehi. Was it all for the cameras and TRPs?
What happened with Nora was for real. We'll see how it works out outside the house. I'm still friends with Yuvika, there was some misunderstanding and she was eliminated, so that relationship did not blossom.

Were you upset that your 'sister', Kishwer Merchant, had to leave the show so that you could stay on?
I was depressed after Kishwer took the money and left but I figured that since I had won two shows (Splitsvilla and Roadies) earlier and had a strong fan base, it'd be better if I stayed on.

Did you expect to beat strong competitors like Rochelle, Mandana and Rishabh?
I was surprised when Mandana was evicted as she was a strong, aggressive competitor. I was even more surprised when she said she hoped I'd win.

Previous winners haven't been able to make much of a headway, what are your plans?
I'll make my own destiny. Before entering the house I signed two shows for two channels. I'm moving to fiction now and begin shooting soon. And I have donated Rs 5 lakh to Salman's Being Human charity for earthquake relief in a bid to do my bit for society.

After spending more than three months inside the house, Prince Narula was crowned the winner of Bigg Boss while Rishabh Sinha was declared the first runner-up.Prince tells us about his plans for the Rs 35 lakh prize money, his equation with the housemates and the 16 kilos that he has shed in the house. Excerpts:

WILL BE GOING TO THE GOLDEN TEMPLE TO THANK GOD FOR THE WIN
“I won't take a break. I'll start working soon. I will be going to the Golden Temple and Nakodar Sahib to thank God. I went there before participating in Mr Punjab, Roadies, Splitsvilla and Bigg Boss. I think wohi lucky charm hai (that is my lucky charm). My mom and dad are my good luck charms, too. I am also planning a vacation with Kishwer Merchant and Suyyash Rai before their wedding,“ he tells us. Ask him his plans for the prize money and he says, “I have donated Rs 5 lakh to Salman Khan's Being Human. I will buy something for my dad with what's left.“

I WAS THE CAPTAIN OF THE HOUSE MAXIMUM NUMBER OF TIMES
“I played the game in such a way that I wouldn't get evicted from the house before the finale. I knew that I won't have to leave because of lack of audience votes. Even the contestants were scared and didn't nominate me. In these three-and-a-half months, I was in the danger zone just thrice, and I was made the captain of the house three times, which is an achievement,“ he smiles.

I WILL BE SPENDING A LOT OF TIME WITH NORA
“Everyone thinks that the relationships formed on reality shows are fake. When we came out of Splitsvilla, Anukhi and I lost touch. Then I came to Bigg Boss and met Yuvika (Chaudhary). I told her that I liked her, but she asked me to focus on the show, and I backed off thinking that I was forcing her. After she left, Nora came and brought a lot of positivity. We actually have a connection. Yuvika is a good friend now. I will spend a lot of time with Nora so that we get to know each other. Falling in love is quite easy when you are in the house, but you get to know a person only when you step out. Nora and I are alike in quite a lot of ways,“ he says.

He was also given the title of 'Emraan Hashmi' for serial kissing on television. “I love this tag. I used to kiss people when they performed well, and even when they didn't. I am happy with the tag,“ he adds.

WILL FOCUS ON ACTING NOW
After his reality show streak, Prince says he wants to take up acting. “I will start trying for films. Before signing this reality series, I had signed two shows, so I will take them up,“ he says.

I CREDIT THIS WIN TO KISHWER
What sealed Prince's place in the finale was the task where Kishwer and Prince had to decide who would exit the house between them. Kishwer sacrificed her place for Prince. “I think they only showed a small chunk. We had decided that she should exit by taking Rs 15 lakh and I would win the Rs 35 lakh prize money. Kishwer told me that I had an advantage because I had won reality shows before this and have a young fan following. I credit my win to Kishwer. When it was announced that I won the show, I gave the trophy to her. That decision worked for both of us. But Kishwer was the toughest competitor,“ he adds.

I USED TO HATE SUYYASH AND KISHWER INITIALLY
In the first episode, when the contestants were being paired, no one wanted to pair up with Prince. He elaborates, “I told them, 'tum logon ne galti kari thi ki bina jaane judge kar liya' (you people committed a mistake by judging me without knowing me). All those people knew each other because they belong to the industry. When they saw me performing the tasks, they were scared. “Initially, I used to hate Suyyash and Kishwer because Suyyash Rai asked her not to pair up with me, but inside the house, we bonded really well because we belong to Chandigarh and Kishwer was like a sister.“