Bigg Boss Telugu Season 9 winner Pavan Kalyan Padala served as an Indian Army officer before entering the popular Nagarjuna-hosted reality show.
Born in Vizianagaram in Andhra Pradesh, Padala harboured dreams of acting from a young age. However, he eventually chose a career in the armed forces. When applications opened for commoners to participate in Bigg Boss Telugu Season 9, he decided to take a chance and applied.
Padala entered the show through Bigg Boss Agnipariksha, a digital pre-show of Bigg Boss Telugu Season 9, which premiered on 22 August on JioHotstar.
The pre-show saw commoners competing against each other to enter the main reality show. Former Bigg Boss contestant Sreemukhi served as host and Abijeet, Bindu Madhavi, and Navdeep served as judges.
Padala’s disciplined approach to the game and his ability to steer clear of unnecessary confrontations quickly earned him popularity among viewers.
His win marks a significant milestone for the franchise, which had previously crowned only celebrity contestants as winners.
Host Nagarjuna Akkineni congratulated Kalyan and wished him success in his future endeavours. The winner was joined on stage by his parents. Padala then handed over the trophy to his mother. He also took home a Maruti Suzuki Victoris and Rs 35 lakh in cash after defeating Thanuja Puttaswamy, Demon Pavan, Emmanuel, and Sanjjanaa Galrani.
The grand finale aired at 7pm on 21 December on Colors Tamil. The episode is available to stream on JioHotstar.