Exclusive! Bigg Boss OTT 2 | Akanksha Puri on her infamous lip-lock: 'If Jad Hadid took the kissing task personally, it's his problem, not mine...'

Akanksha Puri is a super-confident woman who really knows what to talk and when to talk. Most of the times, her super-confident nature may come across as arrogance or attitude to many. Not the one to pay attention to the naysayers, this model cum actress had got evicted from the ongoing season of the Salman Khan hosted reality show ‘Bigg Boss OTT 2’.

OTTplay caught up with Akanksha Puri for an exclusive interview, wherein she spoke about her infamous kissing incident with Jad Hadid, her untimely eviction, and the days she spent in the Bigg Boss OTT 2 jail and other things. So… it’s over you, Akanksha Puri…

Akanksha, how are you feeling right now?
I was really disappointed. I'm feeling so sad. This is the last thing I expected to come out in two weeks. So, I'm really disheartened.

When you entered the show, you were completely enthusiastic. With your sudden and untimely exit, has that enthusiasm now died down or slowed down or you are still like the same Akanksha Puri who is always known for her ‘raring to go’ nature?
I surely had lots of enthusiasm for a reality show like ‘Big Boss’. I had huge expectations and I was not expecting to go this way. I was targeted from day one from the stage entry right itself. And I was just bashed, I've had a really tough 14 days, I think I've had the toughest journey amongst all the contestants. Whether it was going late in the show, or three days in the jail or sleeping for 14 days till the day before on the floor. This journey has been difficult for me. Still, I'm the only contestant who's not gone in the medical room, not asked for a doctor with my heat boils and everything, I had stood strong. I want to pat my back for that and for staying strong, maintaining my dignity and grace. But definitely the enthusiasm has gone a little low, for sure. And next time I'll have to think really, really twice to do a reality show.

Also Read: Bigg Boss OTT 2: Akanksha Puri ELIMINATED from the Bigg Boss house? 

Many felt that you were fake. Why do you feel that people call you fake?
Everyone has seen the way I talk, the way I sit and the way I conduct myself… I have a certain way of doing it. That's how I have been since my childhood. I've grown up in a certain manner, I come from a certain kind of family. So that is something that you cannot change about a person. If a person is confident when it comes to talking to somebody or the way that person stands or the way the person eats… it's a part of a personality. How does it make me fake?

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Carry on… we are listening…
I am a person like that. I'm not someone who's abusive. I'm someone who maintains my calm. I don't stoop down to people's level. I don't do that. Either. I work out if it's not my business, I don't get into it. I don't indulge in nonsense. And if it is, I calmly make my point. But, I'm not someone who gets too aggressive. I don't remember having any fights and so many years with any of my friends or any stranger. I am a person like that. If that makes me fake, if my confidence, if my picture-perfect image (which I was told on the stage that you look so picture perfect), me being flawless and just too rehearsed and too confident the way I talk…. If all of this makes me look fake, then, I don't know what will make me look real.

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When people call you fake, do you feel that it's their insecurity of you overshadowing them?
Obviously there's some where I could sense jealousy. Someone who walks in and gets all the male attention in the house and then someone who's like coming across as someone who's standing tall and confident. There is jealousy also. This is something that I had faced in my real life.

Since you understand the definition of ‘fake’, who do you think is the fake person inside the ‘Bigg Boss OTT 2’ house?
Definitely it is Bebika for sure. She is holding a character. At one moment, she will be your friend and the very next moment…she will get into action. She is totally fake. She will change and transform herself depending upon the situation. She grabs every possible opportunity for footage. She is somebody who has come with a preconceived image about the show. She is highly inspired from lots of ex contestants of Bigg Boss. She herself has mentioned Dolly Bindra and that she wanted to be that.

You were nominated along with Abhishek and Jiya. Who do you think should have been nominated in your place?
Many of the polls and posts stated that it was Jiya who should have been out of the show and not me. I see Abhishek as a winner. I did not see him going out. He himself had said that he did not even pack his bags. But, between Jiya and me, I definitely feel that she should have gone as she was having the weakest game between us three.

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You did undergo a lot when you were inside the house…
Imagine what all had happened to me, if it had to happen to Jiya, she would have given up a long time ago itself. She's someone who always needs someone to latch on to, lean on to. She cannot play alone. If she's in our group, she'll talk badly about the other person and vice versa. She loves male. She seeks all the male attention. I clearly saw that. So, I feel she's weak.

You raised many eyebrows with your kissing episode with Jad Hadid. But, didn’t you do that for your team as a part of the dare so that your team can win?
I am so glad that you brought up this topic. I won it for the team. But, at the end of it all, there was no gratitude and no one stood for me. If it was about winning, it was for the team in whole. But, when it comes to blame, it is me! I did it for the team. Clearly, it was only a task. And if I lose, my entire team loses. I didn't want to do that. Plus, I was nominated. This was the only time to perform. I had got a task and I did not want to say no, as I would have looked like a loser. Why would I do that? Finally, I had got the opportunity in the show. I had been waiting since day one. And when I got it, I went all out! Whether it was gulping down four eggs… I did that. Even if it was ten eggs, I would have still done it. Because I didn't want to say no to anything.

You say you did it for the team. Don’t you think that your team members backstabbed you? If yes, did that put a question or two in your life about friendship and trust?
It did. One thing that I've learned in the show in these 14 days is not to trust people, which I've learned my lesson from outside also. That's why I was not counting on someone like Jiya. People like Jad flipped immediately. That’s why, I would rather appreciate people like Abhishek who tell things on the face.

When you were just being nominated, many outside drew parallels between the two videos which went viral. There was one video clip which had you telling Jad that you don't like anyone touching, and the second video has you kissing the very same Jad! Many termed this as ‘double standards’. What’s your take on this?
Not at all. If it was a kiss, it was mutual. It was not just pushing me towards him to kiss him (Jad). It was mutual. It was for a task. We both were in that moment. But when Jeff was pushing me towards him in the other video that is something that he's pulling me towards him, I am not. So, you know, I feel all the touches or such moments should be mutual. If it's mutual, it's right. But you can’t push me to do it nor you can’t pull me to do it. You just can't do that. So, if that is happening, I'm not comfortable. It has to be mutual. But the kiss was mutual. It was something that I did.

While we are onto the kiss episode, what one did observe is that, while nobody asked him to rate you as a kisser, he still did by saying that you are a bad kisser. So, did you feel offended?
It’s so very funny. First of all, why would I go all out and kiss him? Nor was it a passionate kiss that was happening. It was a task and I was still into the game. I was taking it as a task where I had to touch the lips. And if 30 seconds happened, I win the task. That's it. Even if I just touch the lips or give a peck, I still win. For me. It was just that. It’s just that he (Jad) took it too seriously. He got too involved with this. He went on to say that, my lips were moving and my tongue was moving! He was stupid to take it seriously and personally. I wasn’t just not. Personally, I just wanted to finish that task. Even if it was Cyrus or Avinash or anyone else, I still would have done the task. If Jad took it personally, then, it's his problem, not mine.

A few seasons back, Imam Siddiqui was one of the contestants who had stripped off his clothes and was immediately told to get off the show. Do you think that it was wrong on the part of the show’s makers for not penalising Jad?
I was expecting at least a jail punishment. He got punished by JUST being nominated! Looking back, I was sent to jail for crying and for expressing my emotions. And for pulling pants, he was not sent to jail! I was definitely expecting a jail punishment for him. And I can bet he can't go through it because there's no fan, no AC, food is only twice a day, you have no access to the gym and you are only restricted to the inside. There are no chairs. There's a broken cupboard. It's a commode with no lid. There was a bucket with a mug with two taps with cold water. I was there for three days without even a single complaint. I had heat boils all over my body. I was putting talcum powder and living inside. Despite all this, never once did I seek help from the medical team. Amidst all this, I was also regularly working out, because I am not someone who will skip my basic workout.

What’s your take on Puneet Superstar?
I never interacted with him. I wanted to meet him somehow. He calls me his sister. I was waiting to meet him inside the show. But I have heard a lot about him. (smiles) he was talked about for so many days.

Given a chance for you to get back to the show as a wildcard entry, will you still go?
Given the fact that ‘Bigg Boss OTT 2’ has a short span of just five to six weeks. I feel practically as an artist, it's not a very good decision, because now nothing much to showcase because we are already on the third week, hardly two to three weeks left. There'll be nothing left for me to perform. I think my opportunity will be wasted.

What if you get called for the Bigg Boss’ main format, what are the things that you will do there that you haven’t done here?
First of all, I think I'll have to be more vocal about things. I think somewhere, I will have to be a little louder and knock doors a little harder for them to hear to get my point across. Reality does not work so much for a reality show is what I have understood.

Can you term the following contestants in one word?

Abhishek
Mastermind

Avinash

Hyper

Pooja Bhatt
Smart player

Jad Hadid
Liar

Falaq
Useless

Palak
So much to say about her. She is strong

Jiya
Dumb

Cyrus
Wasted

Aliya
Sweetheart

Bebika
Fake

Manisha
Real

After the entire Bigg Boss OTT 2 episode, do you feel victimised or targeted?
I feel targeted for sure, but not victimised.

How was your parents’ reaction?
Frankly, my parents do not interfere so much in my work. Because it's been more than 10 years that I am in this industry. My decision is my decision. They have always been supportive and even right now, all they said was to just take care of my health and they wanted me to be happy. They are like, “Whatever you need, we are always there”.

What’s your take on Salman Khan speaking about morals and values?
He did not speak to me at all. My major complaint is that he didn't speak to me at all as if I was invisible. I was sitting on the same couch and he didn't speak to me for an entire episode. He didn't talk to me at all. Only one question he had asked me, “Akanksha, have you done this before?”. To which, I said “Yes, I have… in my web series. I had no zero interaction. Even in my eviction, it was like I was just thrown out like this. No interaction, no talking to anyone, no farewell, no goodbye and I was out. Sometimes, I feel like I was invisible for a few hours.