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Tanisha: Not doing Bigg Boss for attention

Like always, the contestants of the latest season of Bigg Boss are an interesting bunch.

Without wasting any time, the show has already upped its masala and the nominations for eviction have been made.

Before the contestants entered the house over the weekend, Subhash K Jha spoke to some of them.

Here’s what they had to say:

Tanisha Mukherjee

I know everyone is surprised that I agreed to be on Bigg Boss. I am at a stage in my life when I like to surprise myself. 

This year I’ve tried things I had never done before. I did theatre. For the first time I performed on stage before a live audience and it was such an amazing feeling. 

I look at Bigg Boss as another challenge. I want to break self-created boundaries and challenge myself. And what bigger challenge than Bigg Boss? 

My mom (actress Tanuja) is very protective. Like any mother she’s concerned about how I’ll cope inside Bigg Boss house. She came all the way to drop me in Lonavala. 

I am looking forward to coping with all the excitement, tension and squabble inside the Bigg Boss house. The true test of a person’s character is when he or she is faced with adversity. I want to come out of this with dignity. 

I’ve been asked if I am doing Bigg Boss to gain some attention. I don’t mean to sound arrogant, but with the family that I come from (mom Tanuja, aunt Nutan, grandmother Shobhana Samarth, sister Kajol, brother-in-law Ajay Devgn) do you think I need to try to get visibility for myself? 

My family’s concern is just the opposite: they worry if I’ll be able to cope with all the attention. I am actually going in there to learn tolerance and patience. I think we are all losing these qualities. 

I am very excited. I am looking forward to meeting some very interesting people, to having fun and challenging myself each day to new experiences.”

Pratyusha Bannerjee: I am not a very aggressive person

From Balika Badhu to Bigg Boss is a big leap. I know I was in the news recently (for speaking up against an allegedly abusive ex-boyfriend). But I didn’t create that controversy just to be in the news when I go into Bigg Boss. 

These things just happen. The timing was unfortunate. I’ve put the ugly situation behind me as I go into Bigg Boss. 

I’ve quit Balika Badhu. So I am in a transitional stage of my career. I am looking forward to enjoying myself. 

I am not a very aggressive person. When they signed me for Bigg Boss, I told them I can’t fight with other contestants like cats and dogs. But I am more equipped to handle crisis now, because of what happened recently.

Rajat Rawail: I'll do masti but not Grand Masti!

I am going in to have fun. My target audience would be children. So I’ll be funny, as expected. But nothing that is unacceptable to a family audience. I’ll do masti but not grand masti! 

It is true that I’m very close to Salmanbhai; I was part of the cast of Bodyguard. Before that, I was the co-producer of No Entry and the overseas producer of Wanted. 

I don’t know if I got into Bigg Boss because of Salmanbhai. I just got a call from Bigg Boss asking me to come to their office. 

I’ve put my career as producer and actor on the back burner to be in Bigg Boss. I look forward to winning. 

This is a country where we have a new spoken language after every 100 km. I want to connect across India.

Ratan Rajput: The money offered is tempting

I know I am not considered controversial enough to be part of Bigg Boss. But if controversy is the criterion, then I was part of Swayamvar, which became quite controversial. 

I think they require contestants of all sorts. Just one sort of masala and spice in the vegetable is not enjoyable. I think I am the salt in the menu. 

I’d be lying if I said I’m going into Bigg Boss only for the experience. Everyone goes to win and I am no different. 

The money offered is also tempting. Everyone needs money. 

As for my appearance in the self-marriage reality show Swayamvar, the marriage never happened, the engagement was broken. 

I am treating Bigg Boss as a stepping-stone to a new phase of my career. I will just be my natural self. How I’m projected on camera is not in my hands. But I can tell you this much: I am not going to be acting. I don’t know whether I can make the other contestants agree to my viewpoint. But I will make sure I don’t change.

Shilpa Sakhlani: My only fear is if Apoorva or I get voted out first, I'll be in deep trouble

The only reason I am doing Bigg Boss is because my husband Apoorva Agnihotri is also on the show. 

We appeared in Nach Baliye together. Now we are in Bigg Boss because we are both free at the same time.

Our one condition was that we go in as a couple. We see it as an experiment to merge with people from different cultures and varied temperaments. 

My only fear is if one of us gets voted out first, I’ll be in deep trouble. I’d just die. I don’t even want to think about it. Every day inside the Bigg Boss house I’ll be praying that if one of us has to go first, it had better be me. My strength is Apoorva. We’ll be celebrating 10 years of marriage soon.

Apoorva Agnihotri: I don't think I am very entertaining

What do I hope to achieve on Bigg Boss? There is a saying in Hindi, ‘Marey bina swarg nahin milta’ (you can’t get to heaven without dying). The tagline for Bigg Boss suggests that this season we get both heaven and hell on the show.

The scary part is that the line dividing heaven and hell is very slim.

I agreed to be on the show because my wife Shilpa is also there with me. We will get to work together.

I’ll be myself on the show. If viewers like me for who I am, they will carry me forward. 

I don’t talk much. I don’t think I am very entertaining. It doesn’t matter whether I come out after the first or the last episode. I just want to come out of this with my head held high.

Anita Advani: I've gone through a lot in life

Destiny brings me to Bigg Boss. I’ve gone through a lot in life. But I have not gone to Bigg Boss to talk about my problems (the dispute over the property of her live-in partner, the late actor Rajesh Khanna). 

I really hope I have a better time inside the Bigg Boss house than I’ve had outside recently. I hope I am not in for a nightmare.

Of course, I want to he happy. Who doesn’t? Let’s see what life has in store for me.

Kamya Punjabi: I am very excited about this new adventure

I was in-between serials when Bigg Boss came my way. What do I hope to achieve on Bigg Boss? I am hoping to get to know myself. I really want to know how I react when I am in a situation where I can’t walk away from problems. 

I’m ready to face every eventuality. I am very excited about this new adventure. 

Do I hope to be in there until the end? Everyone goes into Bigg Boss to be there till the end. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying.