Priya Gupta (BOMBAY TIMES; January 30, 2014)

Tanishaa is a simple person who likes simple things. She is stubborn and strong and may talk too much at times, but is loyal to a fault. She has an OCD for being clean, healthy and organised. Being on a disciplined vegetarian diet in the Bigg Boss house for 105 days, she has lost weight and is looking truly stunning at 48 kilos. She has enjoyed doing all the different things she got to do, be it the production of Son Of Sardaar, a play, Bigg Boss and now a Marathi film. In her first interview post coming out of the Bigg Boss house, she talks to Bombay Times about her strong mother, the loyal Armaan Kohli and why Ajay Devgn is the perfect husband for her sister. Excerpts:


What made you be on a show like Bigg Boss 7?
The challenge. People asked me, ‘Why I would do it?’ And I would say, ‘Why not?’ I am not defining myself, so don’t define me. Expect the unexpected from me.


Reportedly, your family was not happy when you were going in. Did it affect your relationship with them?
My family supports me 100%. That is what it is. Before I went in, they were very protective and who would want their precious, pampered daughter to go into a place like Bigg Boss, where even normal people may not be able to cope. My mother was like, ‘What are you doing?’ But I know that the greater the risk, the greater the reward. In this case, it was all reward. It didn’t only affect me. I don’t need to spell it out, but there were games being played even outside. More than everything else, I have come out with so much love and am so proud of having an insanely strong family that I have. They proved it outside the house and I proved it inside. No matter what you do, you can’t break us. You can skim the surface, but you can’t touch us.


Talk about your experience inside the house? 
I stayed there for 105 days. I was the first person to enter and the last person to exit. I knew there would be no access to the outside world and that there was no TV, phone or help. You do all your work, be it ironing, dish-washing, sweeping, mopping, everything. Luckily, we girls decided that all the boys would do the sweeping and mopping. And while some guys objected to it, the other chauvinistic ones said, ‘How can you ask the girls to do it? They are doing enough work in the kitchen.’ I was washing the dishes and loved it. I was earlier living with a friend in LA where she would do the cooking and I, the washing. I find it very soothing to clean. I have a little OCD. They give you a supply of fresh vegetables once in two days but it is never enough, so you divide the ration that is given. According to me, they are playing a psychological game where they are trying to play with your head and, therefore, limiting your necessities. They are trying to put you under stress and strain and their format is engineered to push you out of your comfort zone. You can only sleep when they tell you to sleep. They decide when you can go to sleep and you are not allowed to sleep till the lights go off. I am a boarding school kid and would wake up before the alarm rang. They will have dogs bark at you, but will not allow you to sleep for more than seven hours. They will purposely start a task at lunchtime when you are hungry, as at that time you will be irritable. I never tried to dominate anybody or manipulate anybody. I never bitched. Nobody affected me in that house. I am a student of Psychology and within two weeks, I knew each one’s real personality, but didn’t know what levels they could go to. They did not affect me as, for me, they were predictable once you understood them, so I managed to keep my cool even though in the outside world, I am not so cool. In an extreme danger, your true personality comes out. There, you are constantly under attack, be it mental, verbal or by the negative energy around you. Whatever you are deep down inside has to come out. I was never playing the game with anyone in the house like the others were. I was only playing with Bigg Boss. For me, winning the game was keeping my cool. The true test of a man’s character is when he is put under a stressful situation not under his control. Bigg Boss was one such. It taught you that you can choose what you will allow to affect you.


Talk about Salman Khan as the host?
Salman is a phenomenal host as he cares about the people in the house and cares about your impression that is going out. He is a caring person. He is not allowed to come inside and talks to us only through television. But over the four months, he is the only person you see from the outside world and you feel you have formed a connection with him, even though he may not feel that way. Not just me, but all the inmates felt a connection with him. Of course, I once told Bigg Boss, ‘We are human beings. You might have driven everyone insane, but we are not in a mental asylum that you call us inmates.’ I came out quite sober and sane. I never wanted to get out and I think I am mentally very strong and that probably frustrated Bigg Boss a lot. If I felt something, I got out of it without drowning myself in that emotion. They want you to get bored as an idle mind is a devil’s workshop. They starve you and put you in weird situations. I missed my books the most and watching movies. I would actually sit and birdwatch with Andy and saw beautiful birds in Lonavla that I would have otherwise not seen. I had no clue what was going on outside, as they kept me specifically away from that. And I think everyone knows why.


Did you miss anybody outside?
No, as I realised that my family is not normal. I never expected my family to come into the house. Even though everyone inside would empathise with me and say, ‘We know that you are missing them’ but I would say, ‘Sorry dude, I am not like you.’ I know my situation and know who my family is and would never ask them to come to the house. Of course, I would miss them. Sometimes I did feel that I wanted their perspective, especially that of my mother and sister as that grounds me. They protect you, hold you close and bring you back to reality and I did miss that. They are my world.


What are you dependent on your mom and sister emotionally for? 
I realised in the house how strong I am. You always self doubt. I am more sensitive and my sister is more emotional. After going in the house, I realised how many things I admired about my sister and how similar I was to her. About her not caring a damn about what people think and knowing exactly who she is. I realised that I knew exactly who I am and didn’t give a damn about what people thought. My mum has instilled that in us. She doesn’t care a shit about what people think. She is a gentle soul that allows beauty to grow all around her. None of us are dominating. I missed my mom for all the positive reinforcement she gives me. And my sister for the objectivity she brings to my life. We are a very tight family and my mum has always taught me to believe in myself. We have this amazing bond, where I know no matter what I do, they are always behind me. And they know that about me. I am very stubborn, but there has been a lot of change in me emotionally. Physically, you can see that I have lost a lot of weight and I love it.


What is Ajay Devgn like?
He is amazing. He is the epitome of being a man. He is strong, silent and secure and is the perfect husband for my sister. J (Ajay) loves me as much as he does as he loves my sister as much as he does. J is less protective about me than my sister. He will encourage me to do things that she may feel over-protective about.


Talk about your sister Kajol?
The one word that defines my sister is pure. Everything she does is pure. She has no negative thoughts and has a pure soul. Her every action is pure and she has always been true to herself.


Talk about your mother Tanuja?
My mother is my guru. She is my teacher, who has taught me all through my life. She has taught me to always tell the truth. She always said, ‘If you stand by the truth, nobody can push you down.’ She was missing me like crazy and I am most attached to her. I love my mom due to the way she loves me. Same for my sister. The way they talk to you and love you, you want to be loved by them.

What is the role of Armaan in your life after coming out of the house?
Armaan is my best friend. And I look at friendship as a relationship. People have seen everything that there was to see and can define it the way they want to, but the fact is that he has supported me 100%. The best thing that the house did was that no matter what happened we stood together.

What qualities of his do you like?
You bond with people you identify with and see your own qualities in. That was with Andy too. Andy and I were very similar. Andy would react and I understand why he was reacting. People tried to tell me that he was bitching about me or putting me down, but I would always say, ‘I know where he is coming from.’ And that’s exactly what I will say for Armaan. He comes from the right place. With me as well, I am a very loyal person. Armaan had that loyalty. Andy has a British sense of humour and so do I. We would sing Mary Poppins songs and would perform Phantom Of The Opera. Armaan is loyal, real and played the game with his heart. I am loyal to a fault and very proud of it. I may agree with somebody else, but will stand with the person I am loyal to.

As a first runner-up, did you win money?
No. I won other things. I won hearts. I won positivity. I won India.