Paulami at Aqua at The Park. Picture by Aranya Sen

She is the reason why most tuned in to watch Roadies every weekend. VIP Road resident Paulami De is back in Calcutta after shocking the country on Roadies Hell Down Under. t2 caught up with the Presidency College alumnus…

What made someone like you who never watched Roadies for the first three seasons audition for season 6?

Till the third season, I didn’t watch a single episode. It was only in the fourth season that I started watching Roadies for Anthony (the Calcutta boy who won Roadies 4). He had the Roadies killer spirit. Then in Roadies 5.0, the fact that a simple boy from Saharanpur (Ashutosh Kaushik) could actually leave the city people behind fired me up. But I was very apprehensive about trying my luck at Roadies because I don’t know how to ride a bike. Forget about that, I don’t even venture outdoors if the sun is too hot! You know how Bengalis are, not very sporty. But then, I decided to give it a shot out of curiosity and to everyone’s surprise — and my shock — I got selected.

Raghu Ram is known to be a nightmare at the auditions. What do you think worked in your favour?

Raghu and (twin brother) Rajiv are the fear factor of the show. I was so scared when I walked in for my auditions. I was totally lost. But I really liked both Raghu and Rajiv a lot. Raghu is a hero! I think they liked my honesty and the fact that I came with no pretensions. That’s why they didn’t really bully me or give me gaalis. I got a little jhaad from them, but I didn’t mind. They were basically trying to analyse my character because they thought I was a little weird.

What are your best memories from the Roadies journey?

Very nice memories. The people, the tasks, the places we visited. I remember the time we went to Pushkar in Rajasthan. It was my first trip to Rajasthan and we had to do a folk dance where the audience was throwing chappals at us! In a village in Silvassa we lived among the tribals. After that, we went to Australia which was the complete opposite of India. It was so glamorous and beautiful. There was a Gucci store at every corner and every two steps we would see people with funky coloured hair. That was so exciting. There were a lot of tasks I enjoyed. Like the one where I had to balance a matka (earthen pot) on my head and walk on glass or the one where we had to walk among the crocodiles. We had a great time during these three months.

A lot of people, including your fellow contestants, have alleged that your loud make-up and over-the-top mannerisms are a way to scream for attention…

I have always been like this. I dress this way and talk this way even in real life. I am a very softy-softy Bengali girl. I like to dress up and I am a creative sort of person. Whatever you saw on the show is what I have been like always. I can’t be a bitch or gossip like the others. I am generally lost in my own world. I know a lot of the people on the show and even outside it found me a little different, they even passed comments like, “yeh kya karegi, yeh to hamesha make-up box leke ghoomti rehti hai,” but I am really not bothered.

How much of what you said and did on the show was scripted and how much was real?

Even when I used to watch the show earlier I thought it was all scripted because itne saare namuney ek saath kaise ho sakte hain? But one thing that I realised very early on in Roadies is that one cannot fake here because one will get caught immediately.

What about the fight with (co-contestant) Palak? Was that also real?

Yes it was! I really didn’t like her at all and that day was the end of my patience. She had a tendency to get physically violent and I had to stop her from hitting Tamanna who was physically much weaker. Palak was made to apologise on national television. Yet she never learnt her lesson.

Roadies is about betrayal and bitching. Did you manage to bond with any of your co-contestants?

I kept away from most of them. The Delhi group was constantly plotting. But I did get emotionally attached to Kiri. He is a really nice guy. I also liked Tamanna because I think she has a strong Haryanvi spirit.

Would you agree that you were the most entertaining aspect of Roadies Hell Down Under?

Yes, that’s what everyone keeps telling me and I like it (laughs). There have been loads of comments about me and (co-contestant) Dev from everywhere in the country and I feel good about it.

What next for Paulami?

As of now, I am taking it easy. Uske baad I am hoping to do some good work on TV.

You are the only Roadies contestant to have got a promo of her own (Zubaan Sambhal Ke) on MTV. Any offers from the channel yet?

Nothing yet. But maybe something should happen soon. I am now in the spotlight!

Paulami on roadies

“Main darr gayi ki agar main gir jaaoongi toh mera make-up kharab ho jaayega.”— During the lasso task

“Achha hai ki task ke liye humein mud mein jaana pada kyunki mudpack skin ke liye achha hota hai.” — During the crocodile swamp task

“If you are a man, come and fight me” — To Palak, a girl.

“Main crocodiles ko bachpan se jaanti hoon kyunki main West Bengal se hoon aur West Bengal mein Sunderbans hain jisme crocodiles hain!”

 

Priyanka Roy

(Do you like/ dislike Paulami on Roadies? Tell t2@abpmail.com)