Sudden eviction shocks Upen

By Debasmita Ghosh

Unlike most ­contestants, who feel relieved after being evicted from an ongoing reality show, where one has to stay locked up and incommunicado with family for weeks in a house, actor Upen Patel (above) is shocked at his ­sudden ­eviction. “I’m not at all happy coming out of the show in its 15th week. I thought I will go till the end but I guess even though I was popular among the people inside the house, possibly I was not so popular with the audience... that’s all I can conclude,” says the London-based Bollywood actor, who has in the past acted in films including 36 China Town (2006), Namastey London (2007) and Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani (2009).

The 34-year-old was often snubbed on the weekend episodes of the show by host Salman Khan — either for his “unsporting” attitude or for his broken Hindi accent. Prodded if he ever felt bogged down by such taunts, Patel says, “On Saturdays, we’d look for ­advice from Salman but ­sometimes he’d pull ­people down, which was a little demotivating at times, but guess he was just doing his job. And to be fair, at this phase in this show where every minute friends turn ­enemies, and back, each of us got snappy.” 

Meanwhile, Patel has brushed aside his linkup rumours with co-contestant Karishma Tanna. “We are very good friends. Sometimes one has to go above the game. You can’t be bothered all the time about your game. Bigg Boss is just a voice after all, and not some person. This is just a role playing game,” says Patel adding that being a girl it was natural for Karishma to be worried about the rumours that Ajaz Khan came and told them about. "Karishma was obviously upset but she later came to me and said that she wouldn't want such a wrong impression about us being projected, considering she has a steady boyfriend outside and also these are sensitive issues, and her entire family is watching the show."

Asked if he felt targetted by some of the contestants in the house, and he says, "Sometimes I did feel bad especially when it was said that main ladkiyon ke support ke wajah se iss ghar mein hoon. That was uncalled for. I have in fact supported all the girls in the house, be it Diandra (Soares) or Karishma," says Patel, who’s now looking forward to the release of his multilingual film 'I'.