Last Friday, Tanaaz Iraani became evictee number four from the Bigg Boss house.
t2 caught up with her the day after the eviction…

How does it feel after 40 days in the Bigg Boss house?

I am very, very happy. I feel absolutely good. I have been looking forward to coming back to my family, holding my son in my arms. I had no problem in being in the Bigg Boss house and I have no problem in coming out of it too. I am glad I maintained my dignity in the house and didn’t do stupid things like the rest of the people in the house. I have come out with my head held high and that is all that matters to me. I feel blessed.

What has been your biggest takeaway from the house?

Bigg Boss has helped me get in touch with my true self. It has taught me that self-belief and faith in one’s principles are the biggest strengths. What is shocking is that I have also made two amazing friends — Aditi (Govitrikar) and Shamita (Shetty) — in these horrible circumstances. On the negative side, these 40 days have taught me how cunning and calculating people can get for the sake of money. Rohit (Verma) is the most vicious person I have ever met. Woh jab ghar se niklega, woh mujhse do thappad khayega. I am that mad at him.

What made Bakhtiyaar and you say yes to Bigg Boss?

We always wanted to do a show like this. Not for the money, not for the popularity, but to put our marriage to the test under the 24x7 surveillance of cameras. We jumped at the offer because out of the hundreds of real-life TV couples, we were the chosen ones. I am glad that our marriage has stood the test and our love has emerged as strong as ever.

But almost every episode showed you two fighting…

We had our share of tiffs, but only about four-five in about 40 days which I think is very commendable. Do it as a test for yourself and see how many times you and your husband fight over the next 40 days. Every husband-wife pair has tiffs, but ours was overdramatised to feed the audience. Out of 24 hours, they would take two minutes of us fighting, dress it up with background music and promos and show it. So everyone in the audience got the impression that we were fighting like cats and dogs all the time. See, Bakhtiyaar is a Parsi and Parsi men use a lot of four-letter words. Both his mother and I are used to his foul tongue! (Laughs.) Considering that we were surrounded by such negative vibes and had the cameras trained on us, I don’t think Bakhtiyaar and I did badly at all. I am very proud of the two of us.

Would you have had a better chance if you had gone in as an individual participant rather than a couple?

It’s always best to go as an individual but I would like to believe that going in as a couple, Bakhtiyaar and I contributed a lot towards making the show interesting. I think we have given the audience its money’s worth. Inshallah, Bakhtiyaar should win. It’s important that a good person win Bigg Boss and you can’t get anyone more clean-hearted than Bakhtiyaar in the house. He is not mentally ill like Rohit or a dal badlu like Vindu. I think Vindu will get two tight slaps from his father (Dara Singh) for his horrible behaviour in the house.

Your advice for Bakhtiyaar?

Before my exit, I just got five minutes to speak to him. I just want him to be calm and composed. I don’t care about the popularity or the TRPs, he should just come out as the person that I have known him for so long. I know that the others will do their best to provoke him, but I have told him never to retaliate. He is an innocent guy who doesn’t know how much the rest of the people in the house hate him (laughs).

Are you surprised by your friend Shamita’s decision to voluntarily exit Bigg Boss?

No, no. I am very happy for her. Shamita is a lovely girl who really values her family. She was a strong contender but I am happy she took the right decision to leave. How could she miss her sister’s marriage? Aise shows toh aate rahenge, but family always comes first.

Who do you think is playing the game right?

Everyone is playing the game very badly. In a bid to outdo each other, they are actually overdoing things. Raju (Shrivastava) is putting up a pretence, Vindu doesn’t really know what he wants and Rohit is spreading his dirty influence everywhere.

What’s next for Tanaaz?

Oh, I am looking forward to packing my bags and getting right back into the house as a wild card entrant. It’s time I showed these people how the game should be played!