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Actress Kunickaa Sadanand’s journey on the Salman Khan-hosted Bigg Boss 19 came to an end on Sunday. Following her eviction, the veteran actress sat down with SCREEN for an exclusive conversation, where she shared her views on the other Bigg Boss 19 contestants. Kunickaa described Amaal Mallik as “a lovely human being,” while calling Abhishek Bajaj “a misogynist.” She also stated that she sees both Gaurav Khanna and Amaal making it to the top 5, and expressed admiration for Tanya Mittal as well.
Talking about surviving in the game for 13 weeks, Kunickaa said, “Even 13 weeks for me was a great achievement. In the Big Brother franchise, I have been told that I am the third contestant over 60 years to stay in the house for so long, and the first one in Bigg Boss. Throughout, I was very sure that my family was looking out for me. I never thought I would survive in the show for more than 2 weeks. In fact, I had told my son I would see him in two weeks, and then we would go out for dinner.”
Kunickaa Sadanand revealed how she wasn’t sure about taking up the show initially and only said yes to it after her kids insisted. The actress shared, “My children influence me a lot, and I listen to them because they are very sensible. I was cut off from the limelight for years. I studied law for 12 years, I had disconnected with the content that was made on TV, I didn’t fit in OTT because the content was around two-tier cities. I was not getting good film roles, so I was happy being an advocate and a social worker. I am very grateful that I accepted this opportunity. This show has made me relevant to the Gen Zs and the millennials.”
While leaving the Bigg Boss 19 house, Kunickaa Sadanand told her co-contestants that she wanted to be a mother to all of them, but she didn’t because that would have hampered their game. During the conversation, Kunickaa shared how being a veteran in the Bigg Boss 19 lineup came with its baggage, not just for her, but for other contestants too. “I got the list of contestants just before entering the show, and I saw that they all were very young and came from different cultures. So I thought there would be pressure about how they treated the eldest in the house. In the beginning, I gravitated towards Gaurav, Tanya, and Neelam, but all the time I behaved like a friend. I knew in this game you had to be alone; making alliances could be difficult. Putting that pressure or taking advantage of my age was not fair to them,” Kunickaa said.
On the Salman Khan-hosted show, Kunickaa Sadanand was repeatedly shamed for her age and called various names by fellow contestant Abhishek Bajaj. The provocation escalated to a point where Kunickaa, in a moment of hurt, cursed Abhishek, saying he would one day witness someone speaking badly to his mother. Sharing her take on the comment that drew significant backlash, Kunickaa said, “I thought he had said something behind my back, and when I confronted him, he didn’t say anything. I was really hurt because I shared a good bond with Abhishek, so I went on to say that. But later Ashnoor clarified that he never commented on anything about me.”
Unfortunately, Kunickaa couldn’t establish a great bond with Abhishek. Talking about her fellow contestant, she added, “Abhishek indulged in a lot of age shaming. I never took him seriously; he is a coward, and I didn’t understand him. I find him irritating and a misogynist. The only time I objected was when they were all yelling at me. I said that in our culture, the way we treat senior citizens, when we tell someone who has turned 60 or 70 that they are now useless, it comes across in a very hurtful way. So I said it felt like domestic violence. I said if I were outside, I would sue them for it, because I didn’t want to encourage that on a platform so big. This show has a huge influence, so I didn’t want to normalize this behavior. I never said that I am 61, so I cannot do a task or some work, so age-shaming me was unfair.”
Even though a strong contender on Bigg Boss 19, Amaal Mallik is receiving mixed reactions for his performance on Bigg Boss 19. While Kunickaa believes he has been himself and not contributed much to the game, she feels he should be respected. “Amaal is a lovely human being. He used to have lots of angst and toxicity inside him due to his journey. His mission was to get music composers recognition; his intentions are nice. I won’t be surprised to see him and Gaurav in the top 5. He deserves respect and has grown quite a lot,” Kunickaa said.
During a nasty argument on the show, Amaal had once charged at Kunickaa and said that she couldn’t digest the respect she was given. He even went on to say that she had done nothing for 40 years. Reacting to that incident, Kunickaa said, “Amaal’s comment about being jobless for 40 years was something I hadn’t heard that time. I only realized when Salman sir addressed it. I always told them, I didn’t want them to respect me; I have earned my respect, been through a journey, and I didn’t need them to respect me when they were trying to get themselves respected.”
Kunickaa Sadanand’s equation with Tanya Mittal has been bittersweet. It started on a good note, but things went downhill after Kunickaa questioned Tanya’s upbringing, morals, and values. Talking about their relationship on the show, Kunickaa pointed out how Tanya and Neelam were called her cubs in the show. She said, “Tanya is playing her game, and I don’t have much to say about her. I had told her she was responsible for setting her own narrative. Our equation was affected because I am very honest, and she wasn’t like that, so it was bound to happen. The statement I made about her morals and values, I stand by it. I was very hurt about the way she took it, and after that I stopped trusting Tanya. Because of her, all 14 contestants pounced on me; that time, I got affected. As for her claims, they are not 100 percent true; her actions are scripted. She is an ambitious girl, she has reached where she wanted to, and she will achieve her dreams. She has made her story, and she plays it accordingly, and I feel some of it is true. No one can lie to this extent.”
Kunickaa is currently in talks for another reality show, rumoured to be Traitors 2, and says she is open to any new adventure life brings her at 61. She added that Bigg Boss has changed her in many ways, “I had a few assumptions about being perfect and righteous, but that was proven wrong.”
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