A day before the big reveal, ie January 11, we played a little game, a harmless bet on who will be the Bigg Boss of this sixth, alag che season. The most promising contendor, Navjot Singh Sidhu out of the race right before it picked pace, left us with oddballs, the oddest being Imam Siddiqui. Now, Mr Siddiqui is in every sense of the term is alag che. Siddiqui’s irritable, nonsensical, idiotic antics and outbursts was eagerly lapped up by the viewers, and he made it to the finals. Which left one of the strongest contenders for the Rs 50 lakh prize Delnaaz Irani stumped.
Irani was going strong till ex Rajev Paul and Sanaa Khan ruined it for her, and themselves too. She played it too safe and in any case, threesomes on Bigg Boss somehow leave a bad taste. In earlier seasons, it was Rahul Mahajan and his girls, Monica Bedi and Payal Rohatagi, then came Ashmit Patel with his ladies, Sara Khan and Veena Malik. The trifecta this season of Irani, Paul and Khan was so self consumed that they forgot that the game was on.
Which leaves us with Niketan ‘Mad Hawk’ Madhok. Considering he is a relatively less known name and face, making it this far was stupendous. Had he been a chhota-mota actor, he would’ve taken the title home purely on the merit of his wits, patience and chiller attitude. The bet was initially on for first Vrajesh Hirjee, then Dinesh Lal Yadav aka Nirhua and Sapna Bhawnani too, but of all the people, as the weeks rolled by, it was television’s favourite vamp Urvashi Dholakia who stood her ground and rightfully deserved the win.
Telly’s saas bahu sautan, Dholakia came with her baggage of memories, yet she dumped none of it on the show. That she started working when she was six, got married at 16, had twin sons at 17 and divorced thereafter was never used on the show to grab attention. From “Dekh Bhai Dekh” to “Kksauttii Zindagi Kay” to playing truth or dare on “Sach Ka Saamna,” showing off her comic sense and timing on “Comedy Circus,” 33-year-old Dholakia’s past made her a great housemate on the show. Why? Because amidst all the Delnaaz drama, touchy feely Paul, crazy Siddiqui, Dholakia displayed nerves of steel. Maybe the universe conspired her to win or maybe the country’s mahaul post the Delhi gang rape incident played its part.
Without waving the ‘woman empowerment’ flag, Dholakia came across empowered, and her confident attitude appealed to the justice demanding women of India, who liked the fact that she didn’t get cornered or bullied, gave it off, tolerated no nonsense and made her place in the house. Yes, on occasion she waved the I-am-a-baddie card, got her share of TRPs and public sympathy, but never overdid it with unnecessary tears. Instead she spiced it up with engaging, and amusing drama. She used tasks, especially the secret task to vent and play, she never took sides nor revealed her vote-outs. This ‘Best Villain of the Decade’ at the 2010 Indian Telly Awards was her proudest moment and public vote when her sons and mother met her with dignity without badmouthing or using the show as a platform to get vengeful (like Irani and Paul’s family).
“I’ve practically grown up with television in this country; 27 years is a long time,” said Dholakia in an interview, making no qualms about her age or her life, the controversies and the ups and downs. “My life’s been an open book; it’s been so right from the day I shot my first TV commercial when I just six,” says the actor. And she has no regrets about how things panned out.
Now THAT’s a winner.
