Recently during the family week, we saw the family members of the Bigg Boss 13 contestants enter the house. It was an emotional moment for the contestants and their family members. In midst of tears, they shared feedback of their performances.
ST spoke to Santok Singh, Shehnaaz Gill’s father and Umar Riaz, brother of Asim, post their visit to the house.
Excerpts:
‘Her game will change now’
Punjabi actress and singer Shehnaaz Gill has been the only contestant who has entertained the viewers since the day she has entered the house. From her cute and innocent talks to her attention seeking antics, Shehnaaz, many would agree, was playing the game well.
But for the past few weeks, she has been concentrating only on wooing actor Sidharth Shukla. The audience loved their chemistry and coined a new name –Sidnaaz. But not anymore. She doesn’t look cute nor entertaining, many have pointed out on social media.
Her father says that Shehnaaz is playing the game with honesty. “Woh dil se khel rahi hai (She is playing from the heart). She has a pure heart. She has seen a lot of loneliness and therefore helps whoever is lonely in the house. Even if it requires her to go against her group.”
He is proud of the fact that Shehnaaz always stands by the truth. “She has been with Sid since the beginning, not just during the game. She never follows him blindly.
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Talking about their closeness on the show, he says, “They are very good friends and are fond of each other. Let them first come out of the show and then decide on how they want to their relationship forward.”
But going by the last few week’s episode, Shehnaaz’s game revolves around Sidharth. In fact, she is focusing more on him than the game. “I have told her the same thing and that people loved her entertaining side. She is not entertaining anymore. Her game will change now. She has understood that the game is more important.”
The father shares that he had told her to avoid speaking to Paras Chhabra because that participant never says anything good about her. “He has been maligning her reputation and keeps saying nasty things about her. He is only one who thinks bad about her,” he says.
Singh credits Shehnaaz’s growing popularity to her fans who have been promoting her online. “Most of the contestants on the show have got a PR but Shehnaaz has none. But her fans are there for her, which is why she is trending,” he said.
Before signing off, he said that according to him, Asim, Shehnaaz and Sidharth are the top three contestants on the show.
‘His personality is apt for the show’
Azim Riaz journey in the show has been most memorable. The Jammu boy has gained a lot fans and popularity over the last three months. His brother Umar is proud of him. “A lot has changed in the last three months. Earlier, Asim was a regular model, but today he is well-known name. You can see the way his personality has changed and how he has matured. We are proud of how he has emerged stronger.”
He said that he couldn’t stop crying after meeting his brother because of all that he has faced on the show. “He faced violence initially. We could not share our emotions with him at that time because he was locked in the house. When we met, we got a chance to express our feelings with each other.”
He added that though the atmosphere of the house seems very tense to the audience, it’s actually quite positive inside.
Was he confident that his brother will come this far? He said, “The way Asim is— talented, emotional, how he stands for his friends and how he is little aggressive too-- his personality is apt for the show. The audience got to see every side of him. He is real. He is behaving exactly the way he is at home.” He added that he was surprised with his brother’s growing followers on social media. “We had never thought that he will get so many followers. His fans are inspired by him.”
Many believe that Asim is being manipulated by Rashami Desai, which Umar said isn’t the case. “He goes wrong when he takes out his own grudges while fighting for Rashami. I have explained to him that he shouldn’t do that. If he is taking a stand for her, there is nothing wrong.”
It is quite visible that Paras and Shefali Zariwala keep targeting Asim, which Umar thinks stems from jealousy. “The fact is that no one knew Asim before the show started and now things are different. Rest of the participants come from entertainment industry and people know them. But inspite of that, Asim’s popularity has grown,” he said, adding, “Paras is also a strong personality and wants to move ahead in the game. As far as Shefali is concerned, she is anti-Asim because he doesn’t speak to her. She couldn’t maintain her friendship with him.”
He said that all the male contestants in the show have very strong personalities, but it is Sidharth who is his strongest competitor.
