Exclusive! Deepika Das on Bigg Boss Kannada Season 9, Roopesh Shetty & more: 'Would have loved to see someone like Rakesh Adiga win'

For Deepika Das, her latest Bigg Boss stint has been nothing short of a roller coaster ride. On one hand, it enunciated her strong will and perseverance as she emerged, yet again, as one of the most favoured contestants of the lot by finishing in the final Top 3. On the other, the revised format of the ninth season, which saw the batch of 18 being equally divided into Praveenaru (Veterans) and Naveenaru (Newbies), forced her to step out of her comfort zone and reinvent her approach to the competition. She would wade through nevertheless but unlike her season 7 experience, she doesn't walk out of the house this time around having forged solid friendships.

"Naveenaru walked in with a lot more experience"

"I just felt this was a tough bunch of people to crack and the contestants of season 9, as opposed to those from season 7, weren't easy to deal with. I don't mean anyone in particular but it seemed as though each contestant was bogged down by the whole "praveenaru vs naveenaru" concept and there was no room for acceptance because they were all busy playing the game. And that didn't allow anyone to get to know one another and form a perspective. A lot of the decisions were made based on the Saturday verdict and I didn't spot any individuality in them - that is one reason why I couldn't find my bearings inside the house initially."

"And as far as the whole praveenaru-naveenaru narrative is concerned, I must tell you that all the newbies were far more experienced than us veterans because they had carefully watched and analysed the previous Bigg Boss seasons before entering the house. In fact, some of them could even predict what would happen next in the competition and that's when I felt that I have no upper hand on anyone!" says Deepika in an exclusive conversation with OTTplay.

"Expected unity among veterans but didn't find it"

Another interesting aspect that crops up multiple times in the conversation with Deepika Das is that of unity. Having gained a lot of her reputation as an individualist, Deepika forayed into the competition hoping that she would be able to speak her mind and present her authentic self to the audience. In the same vein, she was looking forward to working with fellow veterans in unison but much to her surprise and confusion, there was a considerable lack of harmony among them.

"I just expected us five (excluding the 4 OTT contestants to work together - be it with respect to our opinions or survival instincts, I thought we would be on the same page and look out for one another. But that didn't happen and I was proven wrong. And interestingly, many of the contestants knew each other beforehand and their rapport showed on many occasions. There was some kind of gossiping among them and a lot of the decisions were taken together because they had formed small teams amongst themselves. And perhaps, that is why I felt left out because I didn't want to be influenced by a common verdict - even in real life, I have always made sure that I took independent decisions. Now, when I choose to be independent inside the house, I gradually got separated from the rest and that became a huge factor for nominations. In season 7, we would walk up to someone sitting alone and interact with them but in this case, if you found someone on their own, that became criteria to nominate them."

"Personally, I seek out people whose wavelength matches mine and unless I have something important to say to someone, I refrain from initiating conversations. But I could see that I was able to get along with Prashanth sir because he was the only one who understood my personality and even made suggestions about my game. He would tell me to not stand apart from the rest and constantly remind me that it is not just the tasks that help us move forward but also the equations we build with others. But, I did not trust him fully because somewhere in the back of my head, I thought he was using some kind of a strategy with me. Of course, I was wrong and I was quite upset when he was eliminated because he had become a good friend of mine," adds Deepika.

"Roopesh Shetty looked well prepared throughout"

While Deepika toiled away and countered the many challenges she faced along the way, Roopesh Shetty, Rakesh Adiga, and a few others shimmied their way into the finale. Roopesh, in particular, was touted to be the frontrunner right from the beginning and although he was nominated a few times during the course, his ardent fan base stood by him throughout, ensuring he was never in trouble. Speaking about Roopesh Shetty and the reasons he emerged the winner, Deepika Das says:

"I think more than anything else, he was an entertainer and this (Bigg Boss) being an entertainment platform, the audiences were able to relate to him instantly. There was a striking fun factor about him and he is also quite strong physically which helped him perform well in tasks. At the same time, I felt he was quite well prepared for the competition - in fact, all the Bigg Boss Kannada OTT contestants had a nice initiation into the main season and one can deem the OTT edition as a practice ground for them all. The rules and the set-up were comparatively liberal, I am assuming, but that said, each of them came a long way to finish at the top. So, that's commendable. Although Roopesh seemed a little different to me in the beginning, I realised gradually that was putting in a lot of effort and deserved all the accolades like captaincy, Kicchna Chappale, and stuff."

But was Roopesh Shetty her pick to win the competition? The answer could well be a NO but Deepika doesn't outrightly put it that way. Instead, she says that she found Rakesh Adiga, the first runner-up, to be a more worthy contender for the title: "I feel Roopesh deserved every bit of the victory because he worked hard for it. But, personally, I found Raki (Rakesh Adiga) to be a lot similar to me as a personality - he gave others their space, was always calm and positive and that's a big deal considering that season 9 was incredibly chaotic and difficult to survive in. He had his own set of friends but what impressed the most is that he gave away positive vibes at all times. At the same time, he played the game well, kept things entertaining, and kept himself alive in the competition - I would have liked to see a person like him winning the show and setting an example," she says before concluding.

On the work front, Deepika Das is currently focusing on a bunch of unfinished movie projects. She says that although she isn't firm on whether to stick to either the small screen or movies, her focus currently is laid on etching a successful career in cinema.