'I was the prey they wanted to hunt'- Kashif Qureshi

Salman Khan had said that the Bigg Boss house was like a zoo and the inmates are like animals. You however said that it's like a jail. Do you think it is both a jail and a zoo?

I think the Bigg Boss house is a blend of a jail and a mental asylum. Half of the contestants are mental and the other half are trying to be mental.

I am a psychological counsellor by profession and an avid spiritualist. I would like to discuss topics like astro-physics and quantum physics with them but they weren't simply interested. They would instead talk on very flimsy topics. They would go on having cups of coffee but debar me from drinking a glass of milk.

Do you think you were discriminated against for being a common man on the show?

I felt that in the beginning. Initially a few of the contestants were simply giving me second hand treatment. Urvashi Dholakia, Rajev Paul and Niketan Madhok discriminated against me.

It is not just you but others who also lost their temper, however the viewers and inmates seem to be pointing fingers just at you...

When the Nawabs would go for hunting they would kill a tiger in the jungle, stand on it and click a photograph. I was like the tiger of the Bigg Boss house. I was the prey they wanted to hunt. Only one hour of the entire day is shown on TV. People just don't have an idea about how all the contestants irked me 24 X 7. If you are provoked all the time you will lose your cool.

 

Who is your favourite inmate in the Bigg Boss house?

Apart from Delnaaz Irani and Navjot Sidhu Singh nobody else is nice. Sidhuji behaved very well with me. It felt nice when he told me that I wasn't like a cooped pigeon, rather like a falcon who would fly in the sky- a person who would fight for his rights. His words of praise touched me.  Delnaaz is a sweet, straight forward and an original lady.

 

Who do you think will win the show?

Navjot Sidhu Singh

 

Who in the Bigg Boss did you not like at all?

Sapna Bhavani and Rajev Paul.

 

What is wrong with Sapna?

Sapna is a very obnoxious lady. She has quite an attitude and also calls herself mad. She looks down upon long haired Indian women who wear covered clothes and taunts them to be traditional. She seems to regard women with short hair and revealing clothes as smart. She goes on boasting about her celebrity clientele.

 

What is wrong with Rajev? Do you think he really loves Delnaaz?

Rajev Paul is artificial and an animated person. He is very camera conscious. I can't understand if he is genuinely loving Delnaaz or if it's simply an act. Rajev would address the girls in the house as his sisters and then flirt with them.

 

Do you think your stay in the Bigg Boss house has been a positive experience too? Will this help you in your career?

Most of the inmates in the Bigg Boss Season 6 house were fake. I however was very original.  The show did give me instant fame. Before I entered the house I was a nobody. I was very happy when a group of four to five girls were elated to see me after I came out of my house and took my autograph too. Fifteen lakh people had voted in my favour. In the second week I behaved very calmly, therefore people had started liking me. I was touched when Salman Khan praised me. He told me that I was like his younger brother. In Hyderabad they have put up a huge hoarding with me on it saying that I have made them proud since I am original. Yes, my Bigg Boss stay should help me in my career.

 

You once said in the Bigg Boss house that you felt mentally scattered, what exactly did you mean by that?

I had been working hard throughout the day. I wanted to rest just for a while. Sapna Bhavnani then called out to me very rudely and ordered me to wipe some spilt tea. There's a limit to what I can take mentally.

 

Dinesh Yadav told me that though you are a common man you simply don't have the qualities of one, please comment.

It is his point of view which I respect. At the same time I must say that I am disappointed. I thought he liked me. However I have heard that he has criticized me on leaving the house which really hurts me.

 

-         Reporter and Author: Pallavi Bhattacharya