'I am the same when I went inside the house and came out and people like that a lot.'
Gaurav Khanna won Bigg Boss season 19. Farrhana Bhatt was the runner-up.
Show host and Bollywood superstar Salman Khan presented Khanna with the prize money of over Rs 50 lakh and the trophy.
"It is yet to sink in. It is very surreal for me now. I received so much of love. What I love about it that I didn't change a bit. I am the same when I went inside the house and came out and people like that a lot. I didn't change or faked anything," Khanna said.
The television actor, known for his roles in Anupama and CID, said the turning point was when Salman expressed his desire to work with him.
"I cried at that very moment," he added.
Asked what he would do with the winning amount, Khanna said he will take the advantage of his MBA degree and invest it wisely.
Season 19 of the show kickstarted on August 24.
Bhatt, who has acted in movies like Laila Majnu and Notebook, said she is happy she got a chance to win many hearts while on the show.
"I never had my eyes on trophy. I was just going with the flow, doing my best and trying to contribute 100 per cent," she said.
"When I came out and saw the love of the people, I didn't feel the sadness of not winning the trophy. I was like whoever wants to win trophy can win, I have won hearts outside. So I am very happy and I not sad at all," she added.
Stand-up comedian Pranit More ended up in the third spot. Content creator Tanya Mittal was in the four position and omposer Amaal Malik settled at fifth place.
The grand finale saw Bollywood star Kartik Aryan promote his film Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri along with co-star Ananya Pandey. TV actor Karan Kundrra and Sunny Leone and Bhojpuri star Pawan Singh also marked their attendance.
At the beginning of the show, Salman thanked Big Boss fans for their love and support for the contestants.
He also paid tribute to Dharmendra, saying there won't be any one like the late superstar who gave 60 years of entertainment.
This Bigg Boss season had a blend of actors, influencers, musicians and reality stars.
Awez Darbar, Ashnoor Kaur, Kunickaa Sadanand, Mridul Tiwari, Basheer Ali, Abhishek Bajaj, Zeishan Quadri, Nehal Chudasama, Nagma Mirajkar and Neelam Giri were among the participants.
Photographs curated by Satish Bodas/Rediff
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