Imagine Sunny Leone haunting you as a ghost. Does the idea scare you? Well, that’s what writer and director T L V Prasad is going for with his horror comedy, Chudail, which sees Leone in the titular role. The actor recently wrapped up filming in Uttar Pradesh.

So, what’s Chudail all about? Also starring Rahul Dev and Mandana Karimi, the horror comedy is along the lines of the blockbuster Stree, which subverted the idea of evil female spirits. It sees Leone and Karimi in conflict with each other, while Dev portrays a priest who drives the spirit away. 

A source shared, “Set in North India, Chudail sees Sunny as a spirit haunting the streets of Bulandshahr and luring men. But her character isn’t an all-black witch. As the story progresses, it’s revealed that she faced grave injustice in her lifetime and that sparked her need for vengeance in the afterlife. Extensive VFX has been used in the movie to showcase Sunny’s transformation from a beautiful woman to a spirit with glowing eyes and reversed feet.”

For Mahendra Dhariwal, Chudail is a significant project as it marks his 50th movie as a producer. He is planning its release on a grand scale, as he told mid-day, “It’s designed as a pan-India movie, shot in Hindi and dubbed in other languages [Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu]. We shot the film in a haveli in Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh. Sunny’s Ragini MMS 2 [2014], where she played a possessed woman, was a big hit, and now she is returning as a chudail in the horror comedy. It’s also a musical. We are planning a theatrical release in September-end.”

Amid the US-Iran war, Irani actor-activist Mandana Karimi has reaffirmed her fierce opposition to the country’s ruling establishment, following the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“No one celebrates innocent loss of life. But you cannot ask a nation that has endured decades of executions, imprisonment, torture, and mass crackdowns to react with conventional mourning,” she says, adding that for many Iranians, “Celebration has become a form of resistance and a way to reclaim power over grief.”

Addressing accusations that such reactions amount to endorsing foreign military intervention, she responds: “This was not a random foreign agenda imposed on us. No one wants bombs in their country, but when all internal paths to reform are blocked, people begin to look outward.”

Mandana, 37, adds how Irani citizens are now calling for political activist Reza Pahlavi as their leader. “The chants of Javid Shah (Long live the king, a slogan opposing the Irani government) did not start abroad… they started inside Iran. We see Pahlavi as a transitional alternative capable of uniting the country.”

Actor Esha Gupta and shuttler P V Sindhu, who were stranded in the UAE amid the air travel shutdown, shared respective updates about being “back home”. Esha wrote, “I saw the strength of UAE... Thank you to our government for bringing the citizens home. Thank you to UAE government for working in solidarity with every country.”

Meanwhile, Sindhu wrote: “A heartfelt thank you to the incredible ground teams, Dubai authorities, airport staff, immigration, and every single person who stepped up and took such good care of us during a very difficult time.” She had to pull out of the All England Open Badminton Championships 2026 due to the Dubai ordeal.

Iranian actor-model Mandana Karimi, who gained fame for her stint in Bigg Boss 9 before her Bollywood outings such as Kya Kool Hai Hum 3 (2016) and Thar (2022), has now shifted her focus to academia. After studying interior design, she is actively working in the field and also serves as a visiting professor at various institutes.

“I became a model at such a young age and had to support myself but I always missed the fact that I couldn’t go back to school,” she shares, adding, “One of my friends owns an interior design firm and he asked if I want to see what they do. When I explored the field, I started enjoying it.”

Finally being in a career she enjoys, the 36-year-old admits, “Acting was a job that I never loved, nor this industry. I am grateful for the time I spent there, but it wasn’t something I was hungry for or crazy about.”

Since completing a year-long course in interior design, Karimi has been turning down modelling and acting offers.

“It is, of course, hard to say no to money. But I still have casting director friends who call me for auditions and I have to say I can’t devote so much time. I have projects, events, and my school that I’m focused on currently,” she shares.

Acknowledging this change from being an actor, to now going to school and “doing a 9 to 5 job”, she confesses: “I now finish my work in office, then come home, and go to school... My life has changed so much. But I’m loving it.”

The #MeToo movement became a watershed moment in history by bringing to light accounts of sexual harassment and misconduct at the workplace. However, five years after it first gained prominence, consequences faced by the accused remain remarkably different between the Indian film industry and Hollywood.

While reports by American media speak of how men accused of #MeToo struggle to find work, closer home, things haven’t changed much for celebs accused of harassment. Latest case in point being filmmaker Sajid Khan’s participation in the reality show Bigg Boss 16. Ever since the news first emerged, social media has been abuzz with people calling the makers out for their disregard towards the survivors, who had shared their #MeToo accounts against Khan in 2018.

Actor Tanushree Dutta, who became the torchbearer of the movement in India after speaking up against actor Nana Patekar and filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri, calls Khan’s entry into the show a “cheap publicity stunt” and a “desperate attempt” by makers to revive interest in the show.

Among the several women who accused Khan, was actor Mandana Karimi, who claimed that he had asked her to remove her clothes during a meeting for his film Humshakals (2014). In a recent interview with us, Karimi said she is not shocked that he is back in the limelight without any repercussions. “For people, life has become like, ‘If it is going to benefit me and I can make money, who cares?’ That shows why #MeToo movement in India and many other countries didn’t really reach anywhere,” Karimi, who has decided to bid adieu to Bollywood as a result, said.

But, this is not the first instance that such an uproar has been created over an accused facing no repercussions. National Award-winning singer Chinmayi Sripaada, who was among several women who named Tamil lyricist and poet Vairamuthu of sexual harassment. feels that such incidents make the process of coping with the trauma of abuse, tougher. “It does further the trauma. But, what can you do? My molester is the favourite nationalist Tamil boy. He continues to get a platform. So many women, who call themselves feminists, get clicked with him,” she says.

Sripaada, however, expresses hope that things will change. “I know when I came out, it was incredibly freeing... Change doesn’t happen instantly. I see men who have taken a step back after this movement, and looked inwards, trying to unlearn things. I think things will change, but they will take time,” she says.

Singer Neha Bhasin, who had spoken up against singer-composer Anu Malik in 2019, says such incidents do not undermine the accusations. “Why should I care about the verdict of a society that is okay with people accused of harassment getting important projects, as if nothing ever happened? It is their shame; those who decide to work with them and continue to be seen with them. They, in no way, undermine whatever any of the victims have said about the accused before,” she says.

Although the #MeToo wave first reached India in 2017, as it did in many other countries following the high profile cases in Hollywood, it became prominent only a year later in 2018, after actor Tanushree Dutta opened up about her account, accusing actor Nana Patekar of sexual harassment.

That interview served as the prompt for multiple others, who spoke out against high profile names in the industry. Some of those accused included filmmakers Rajkumar Hirani, Vikas Bahl, Subhash Kapoor and Sajid Khan, singers Anu Malik and Kailash Kher, and actors Alok Nath and Rajat Kapoor.

However, nearly all of those who have been accused, continue to get work in their respective fields. Social media outbursts from several pro feminist and #MeToo handles, and countless online petitions, have all fallen on deaf ears as makers continue to offer projects and positions of respect and importance to the accused.

Allegations against the composer first emerged when singer Sona Mohapatra accused him of referring to her as “maal”. Shortly after, singer Shweta Pandit opened up about being sexually harassed by him when she was 15. The alleged incident took place in 2001, when Pandit visited Empire Studio in Mumbai’s Andheri for an audition. Malik denied the allegations. While Indian Idol removed him as a judge after an uproar in 2019, he got back to the seat, a season later.

A journalist accused the filmmaker of assaulting her and exposing his genitals while she was interviewing him in the early 2000s. Another woman alleged that he harassed her in 2011 when she was working as his assistant director. Several others, including actor Mandana Karimi recounted being assaulted by the filmmaker. While he stepped down as the director of Housefull 4 (2019), Khan is back as a contestant on a reality show.

A crew member accused filmmaker Vikas Bahl of assaulting her during the filming of Bombay Velvet in Goa in 2015. Actor Kangana Ranaut, too, has accused him of sexual misconduct. Bahl sent legal notices to his former business partners, filmmakers Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane for making “defamatory allegations” against him. Following this, he worked with actor Hrithik Roshan in the film Super 30 (2019) and more recently, directed Goodbye, starring Amitabh Bachchan and Rashmika Mandanna.

Writer and director Vinta Nanda accused actor Alok Nath in 2018 of raping her in the 1990s. Subsequently, actors Renuka Shahane, Himani Shivpuri, Sandhya Mridul, Deepika Amin and an anonymous Hum Saath-Saath Hain crew member have either admitted to knowing about Nath’s predatory behaviour or written about their own experiences. Nath has denied the allegations and filed a defamation case against Nanda, with his wife’s support. He featured in two films Sonu Ke Teetu Ki Sweety (2018) and De De Pyaar de (2019) after the incident.

Actor Nana Patekar was accused by actor Tanushree Dutta, making him the first prominent name to be highlighted in the #MeToo movement in the Indian film industry. He denied the allegations and tried to drag her to court as well. Two years later, he starred in the film It’s My Life, alongside Harman Baweja and Genelia Deshmukh. Patekar is reportedly gearing up for his next release, The Confession.

---------------------------------------------------------

“The law and order in the US is strong. So, the people have that support. We need to strengthen our system like that. Everyone needs to come together in solidarity in India to eliminate such crimes. Industry veterans, production houses and seniors need to be more responsible not to send such a horrible message to society.”

“Incidents like these are a glaring reflection of the deep-rooted patriarchy. People might get richer and buy expensive cars, but the mindset remains the same. Women are held accountable on the basis of morality, while men are not held accountable to the same standards. Everyone is out to character assassinate a woman. And that’s why the consequences will be different here. The fact that it is acceptable, that someone can get to work after such incidents, just cements my thoughts about India being a patriarchal society.”

“There are people who agree to compromise and keep their mouths shut, or not talk about the things happening around, thinking what difference will one person make? That is the main problem... It was just a few women, they came, they spoke and that was it. Where is the action? Who is boycotting these people? Nothing is going to happen. The industry is a place were someone is someone’s mum, boyfriend, girlfriend or husband. It’s like, you scratch my back, and I will scratch yours.”

“There are not many Harvey Weinsteins (disgraced producer) in the world, who get what the deserve. Even to women in the West, their system tells them that they do it (speak up) for cheap publicity, fame or money. In India, things are even difficult because it happens on a very deep rooted cultural level, which has gone on for generations. Even in regular households, women who suffer abuse are told to adjust and keep shut or not talk about it, while the people who do the deeds, are invited to family functions and what not. But all is not bad, I do see things changing and men wanting to unlearn things. That’s the most important step, I believe.”

Mandana Karimi is bidding adieu to Bollywood. The actor, who was among the women who accused filmmaker Sajid Khan of sexual misconduct as part of the #MeToo movement four years ago, says it is appalling that Khan is now a part of a reality show, facing no repercussions whatsoever for the charges levelled against him.

Karimi claimed that during a meeting for his film Humshakals (2014), Khan asked her to remove her clothes and said, “If I like what I see, you might get the part”. Seeing him participate in a reality show now has irked her. “For people, life has become like, ‘If it’s going to benefit me and I can make money, who cares?’” she laments, adding, “The industry is a place where someone is someone’s mum, boyfriend, girlfriend or husband. It’s like, you scratch my back and I will scratch yours.”

The Iranian actor, last seen in the reality show Lock Upp, says she has not worked in seven months. “I didn’t go for any auditions. I don’t want to work in Bollywood. I don’t want to be associated with an industry where there is no respect for women,” she says, adding that her dues from her last reality show are yet to be cleared.

What does the road ahead look like for her? “I’m trying to figure it out. I need to see what makes me happy as life is too short to compromise for anyone… Let’s see where life takes me,” she wraps up.

I left Iran with a heavy heart years ago, when I was almost 19, alone, without knowing any other language besides Farsi, without my family’s support, and without much money in my pocket. You could say, ‘Wow, brave girl? What was going on in your head? Why would anyone leave their family, their country, to come out and do what?’

The answer is that I didn’t have any answers. All I knew was – I don’t want to live in this place – where I can’t breathe, where I have to think twice before stepping out, think twice about who I’m hanging out with, what I can study, what I should wear to not get arrested by the morality police. I’ve lost count of how many times I was stopped by them, I got arrested and spent all my money to pay them to let me go. 

Once, I spent two nights in a police cell, watching my friends being punished by lashes. Some incidents I’ve forgotten since I moved out. But then, I am still Iranian, I still have friends and family back home.

I hear their stories all the time – stories about them not getting jobs, not having the freedom to travel, getting stopped again by the morality police, getting arrested with their boyfriend, wanting to get a divorce but unable to. Every time, you say, ‘Don’t worry, it gets better, be strong…’

But then, nine days ago, the 22-year-old Mahsa Amini – a Kurdish girl visiting Tehran – got arrested because she wasn’t wearing her scarf properly! She was taken to the station to be educated, to be corrected (and believe me, that only means ‘you’ll get beaten up, or that you have to pay to get out, or that if you keep quiet and listen to them you might get out alive), but she wasn’t lucky. She died, and I and 10,000 other Iranian girls relived our trauma!

I have my two brothers and mother back in Iran. Mum lives alone in Tehran and is terrified of what’s happening, but she keeps saying, ‘Thank god, you are not here. In this country, there is no place for women.’ Believe me, it breaks my heart hearing those words. Why is there no place for girls or girls like me in my own country? Why can’t I be with my family? Why do I have to be in a foreign country just because I wanted to live and be free? I couldn’t speak with my family until two days ago. Their phones are working, but the connection is horrible, they don’t have internet or any connection to the outside world. So, when

I tell them how much I am supporting the people, and how much everyone around the world supports Iranian women, it puts a smile on her face for a few seconds. And how I wish I could see her face!

I think this is a fight for human rights and women’s equality. We are asking for our right to wear what we want and not get abused or killed. This is not about the hijab or Islam.

This is about our rights as women. Whether we want to wear a scarf or not should be our choice, not anyone else’s. We need the world to be our voice. For example, everyone who lives in the United Kingdom, write to your cabinet and ask them why the Iran government is allowed to have an embassy and consulate when the British government doesn’t have one in Iran. If you are in any other part of the world, like the US, question your government and write emails to their offices. Email the UN, and if you can’t do that, be present online, support the hashtags, spread the news and create awareness about Iranian women.

The case filed against producer Bhushan Kumar, by a 30-year-old woman, accusing him of raping her under the pretext of giving her a job, has again highlighted Bollywood’s casting couch. A statement from T-Series, his production house, dismissed the allegations as “false and malicious”. On a complaint by T-Series, Mumbai Police has registered an FIR against a local politician and a model for extortion.

But the incident brought back haunting memories of many previous instances where female actors have called out the casting couch culture in Bollywood. It has also made many wonder what has changed in Bollywood after the #MeToo movement. Has it scared the perpetrators or is it business as usual? Or, are women misusing their voice instead?

It is extremely horrendous. I know a lot of women who have been through embarrassing situations. Even though women draw a boundary, people just don’t get it. Men always misinterpret a woman’s psychology in the industry. I think they are so deprived sexually that they behave this way and also because of greed and weird fantasies in their head. I never go alone for auditions or for work meetings.

There are people who emotionally manipulate girls. They sense how vulnerable a girl is and how much she needs a job. There are many casting directors who have flirted with me and I took a call that I am not going to work with them in future. I trusted an upcoming director and he knew I was from Kolkata so my Hindi was weak. He said he would help me, he became a friend and started misbehaving. It was a shocker. I am not a big actor but I am in a position where in if a director says he wants to work with me, a producer or casting director cannot misbehave with me.

Casting couch prevails in the industry even today. Just pouncing on somebody is not what I call casting couch. Talking inappropriately, giving indirect hints, even these are a part of the casting couch. Every girl in her career has gone through this. If someone says they haven’t faced it, they are lying. But then, I feel nobody can do anything forcibly. When someone says ‘this guy raped me’ I don’t understand that. It always is mutual, at least in the industry

There are good and bad people everywhere. I think #MeToo movement gave girls a right to speak. But I think there are people who use it not in the way it was intended. We are living in a different time and in the age of social media, so whenever such instances happen to any female actor, they must immediately share their story. There are also some women who wait for an “opportune” moment, that also happens. Good people make sure women who work with them are safe.

In the time I have worked in the industry, I never had to go through the casting couch. I understand jispe beeti hogi, but I don’t know whether it is right or wrong. We all have a sixth sense, so when you know the other person’s intentions are not correct, you should go away from there. Kya kar liya #MeToo ne? You are getting followers on social media… what’s next? People used the #MeToo movement. A girl speaks up after two years. I have friends and family working in various fields, they all say one should speak up when it happened.

When some people are talking about a cause, others start getting aware of a situation. Let’s say if I was stealing money, I would become more cautious about it. But the fact is in a country like India, many production houses don’t give you the job until you have an equation or are friends with them. A lot of people say ‘let’s set a trap for a producer or a director’. They say, ‘He said this’, when they are the ones who are messaging that person.

I have been here for 10 years, nothing of this sort happened with us. However, some new casting directors have affairs with girls and say they will get them work. This is why these new casting people are scared ki kal kuchh ho na jaaye. And new actors are scared. But you only need acting skills. Post the #MeToo movement there has been a change in the casting process. Due to Covid-19, there are also online auditions now.

I know that the casting couch does exist, but I think that more than casting directors, the producers and directors are the people who misuse their power to exploit female actors. Also, there are various people involved in the casting process, so pinning the entire blame (for the casting couch phenomenon in showbiz) just on the casting directors is not right.

A night before Diwali, Mandana Karimi says she got a rude shock on the set of her forthcoming film, Koka Kola. It was her last day of the shoot which went awry towards the last hours, when the film’s producer, Mahendra Dhariwal, allegedly misbehaved with her on the set of the film in Mumbai.

Mandana told BT, “I am still in shock about what happened and how it happened. Koka Kola is a film that we have been working on for over a year now, and it’s been one of those jobs that you do despite knowing that the team is not being very professional. We all end up doing a few such jobs to just keep ourselves afloat. From the beginning, I had problems with this crew. The producer (Mahendra Dhariwal) is an old-school man who turns the set into a man-dominated, egoistic place. There are places where projects are driven by one person’s ego. That’s not new, but what happened on November 13 has shaken me up. It was the last day of my shoot and I wanted to wrap up and get going. I had another meeting lined up. On the last two days of the shoot, I had come in early and clocked in the hours, though the shoot wasn’t all about me. A little before wrap-up, the producer asked me for an hour more on the set, which I told him I can’t do as I have a meeting lined up. He said okay, and I went back on set to finish my last few takes. We were shooting for a song. But the moment I left the set and went to my vanity van to change, he forcefully came inside and started shouting, ‘You can’t leave. I asked you to do an extra hour and you have to listen because I am the producer and I have paid you.’ This set had no director or assistants. There was a choreographer, a stylist and the producer was calling the shots, literally. It’s the strangest job I have done in my nine years in India. He started creating a scene on the set along with his son and calling me names. It’s unsettling how they have behaved with me as an artiste and as a woman.”

Mandana adds, “He started saying, ‘Humne paise diye hain, lekin tumko kaam nahi karna hai, paise bhi poore chahiye, blackmail karti hai.’ After my last take, I went to my vanity van and told my spot boy to not let anyone in while I was changing my clothes. I thought the door was locked, but it wasn’t. In a few seconds, the producer came inside, since I was changing, I requested him to wait outside, but he refused and continued screaming. Luckily, the stylist (Hitendra Kapopara) ran into the vanity and pulled him out before things became uglier.”

The actress continues, “I am a single woman, I don’t have family here or a godfather, not even a manager or a PR person. I am trying to make a living on my own. I still can’t understand what really happened. A lot happens on a set, but this was absolute misbehaviour. People have called me and asked me who this shady guy is and why I am working with him. I have to support myself, there is no one else to help me with that. The last few months have been really tough. This behaviour amounts to mental harassment... being shouted at like that in front of so many people, being called names, being asked what visa am I working on, and telling me that I have no work and no one will work with me. In the last two months, the producer has messaged me several times, asking for dates. I was busy with two other projects. He and his son are not trustworthy people, and I wanted the full payment before I resumed work. I am here on an employment visa and I have paid my taxes. I have worked hard with dignity. I love India, and it’s been my home. People know me and have shown support, knowing how professional I am, but imagine being new and not having anyone to back you.”

Mandana says she was not allowed to use the production vehicle that was allocated to her.

She adds, “First, the producer asked me to get out of his set. And when I got into the car, the producer’s son stopped the driver from driving me home. No one said anything about all of this. The only other person who helped me was the choreographer, who lent me his car to go home. I am not the first one to go through this, but I am someone who will not take it lying down. I will not go to that set ever again. I am done with it.”

Mandana Karimi, who got married to Mumbai-based busi nessman Gaurav Gupta in January this year, has accused her husband and his family of domestic violence. The actress and reality TV star has also filed for divorce.

Amidst other allegations, the divorce petition states that Gaurav forced her to convert from Islam to Hinduism ahead of their wedding. She was also asked to quit acting. Mandana claims that she has now been barred from entering her marital home.

Talking to BT, she says, “My husband fell in love with me because I am a strong and independent woman, but I didn't know that Indian mothers-in-law are so controlling. I quit acting as my husband didn't want me to pursue it after marriage. I now realise that listening to him was my biggest mistake. I want to tell women not to quit work after marriage. I wanted mine to be a happy marriage, but I have been harassed. Now, I have been thrown out of my matrimonial house and I'm left with no money.“

EXCERPTS FROM MANDANA'S DIVORCE PETITION
Post marriage also, I was kept in the matrimonial house in Juhu as a prisoner. It was a big house and we all lived together as a joint family. It was my shared household and I was in a domestic relationship with all the Respondents. I was not given any privacy or any say in my own matrimonial house. I was not allowed to work. The Respondent No. 2 (Madhu Gupta, Gaurav's mother) continued with her insulting nature towards me. I was not allowed to meet my friends outside nor was allowed to have my friends in my matrimonial house.

I was going through depression at this juncture of my life. The Respondent No. 1 (Gaurav) told me that he intended to stay with me separately in their flat in Juhu. The Respondent No.1 told me that in order to avoid complications, fights and confrontations at home I should forthwith leave the matrimonial house. The Respondent No. 1 told me that he would immediately terminate the leave and licence agreement with the licensee and that he would move us into the flat... I didn't have any support system in Mumbai and my family was far away in Iran. Respondent No. 1 sent two bags filled with some of my old clothes leaving behind my jewellery, engagement ring and expensive belongings like watches, perfumes, shoes, dresses, wedding clothes/dresses, cosmetics etc. For quite a few days I continued to stay in the hotel. The Respondent No. 1 then told me that the process of vacating the licensee from the Juhu flat may take some time and that in the meantime I should go to Iran and stay with my family. The moment I left for Iran, the Respondent No. 1 reduced his interaction with me. I also learnt from some of our common friends that Respondent No. 1 had tricked me out of my matrimonial house with no intention of having me back in his life.

I was shocked and I immediately returned to India. I tried to contact Respondent No. 1, but he avoided to meet me. I thus visited my matrimonial house but was not allowed to enter my room which was locked and the security was directed to remove me out of my own matrimonial house. I thus again contacted the Respondent No. 1.The Respondent No. 1 met me and told me to stay in one Hotel in Bandra. By now, I had realised that the Respondents had conspired to just get rid of me and drive me out of my matrimonial house and also divest me of all my rights.

I have now come on roads and has been left without anything. I have been subjected to gross cruelty and harassment and have been put into severe pain and agony. I have been cheated and used as a commodity as per their whims and fancies.

It was always fireworks whenever Lopamudra Raut (Miss United Continents 2016 2nd Runner-Up) and veejay Bani Judge locked horns on Bigg Boss Season 10. The two never got along barring the last leg of this edition. Even the makers couldn't stop themselves from cashing in on their rivalry by pitting them against each other and showcasing the highlights of their fights during the finale dance performance.

Lopa says, “Our thinking didn't match, and it caused friction at times. Everybody behaves differently. I respect Bani and want everybody to do so. It's not that she is bad and I am good or the other way round. We are both strong personalities and sometimes, things just don't work out. It's not that we have any hard feelings towards each other. Let's end the topic now that the show has ended. I don't hold a grudge against anybody; I believe in moving on.“

Bani adds, “I have nothing against Lopa personally. She is a wonderful girl. I just don't know her that well. We were pitted against each other during the tasks and the makers also played up the fact that we didn't get along, which instigated it further. She has understood me a bit now; I couldn't make her understand me during the show.“

Many differences have been resolved outside the house. Do they expect the same to happen to them? “I don't want to maintain rivalry or friendship with her. Let's see if time changes our equation,“ answers Lopa, while Bani says, “That's pushing it a bit.“

Ask Bani if it feels bad to lose to a commoner (Manveer) and she replies, “I hate such discrimination. I was a commoner too, when I entered the industry. Even now, I am a normal human being; it's just that my job requires me to be in front of the camera. I have never considered myself a celebrity. I have my own nakhras, but an aam aadmi has even more nakhras and tantrums than any celebrity. Now that they are also so-called celebrities, Best of luck, India! You have made them celebrities and now you'll have to handle them. I call myself the people's champion.“

Meanwhile, Lopa says, “I am a little disappointed that I couldn't win, but I am glad that I reached top three. I am proud of myself for making it so far. I want to pat my own back for the amount of patience and perseverance I have shown. There are no regrets and I am happy that Manveer won; he deserved it. I would have been happy for Bani too, but Manveer was more deserving. He put his heart and soul in the game, and his involvement was commendable. He has been a good friend and his victory feels like my own. He is a nice soul.“

Many felt that Bani was a quitter, especially during tasks. She says, “When you participate in a reality show like Bigg Boss, outsiders can't fathom what you go through. People might have felt that I wasn't completely involved in tasks, but the truth is, I let go when I felt that was the best thing to do. It's important to let go at times; winning is not the most important thing in life. The journey is important as well.“

We also witnessed Lopa getting emotional after former Bigg Boss contestant Mandana Karimi accused her of being nasty towards Bani and not showing sportsman spirit. “That was Mandana's point of view and that needn't be the reality. I respect her and uski soch usse mubarak. Had I been in her position, I would have gone all out for the contestant I supported too, but without putting the other person down. I don't care about what she said. I am sensitive and I do feel hurt, but that's how all girls are,“ she signs off.