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In a twist no one saw coming, MC Stan aka Altaf Shaikh, who impressed all with his raw and real personality, some strong friendships and his talent, has won the Salman Khan-hosted reality show Bigg Boss season 16. He beat Shiv Thakare, Priyanka Chahar Choudhary, Archana Gautam and Shalin Bhanot to take home the trophy, Rs 31,80,000 and a brand new Hyundai Grand i10 Nios.
As MC Stan walked on the stage of Bigg Boss 16 at the premiere, he found a fan in host Salman Khan. The Bollywood star immediately took a liking to the young rapper from Pune and seemed amazed at his personality. From his street-style dialect to his expensive accessories and shoes, Salman was floored by the ‘P-town’ star. However, as soon as MC Stanentered the house, he went into a shell. With the inability to make friends quickly, the shy Altaf took over, and it seemed like his journey would be cut short.
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However, soon he found friends in Shiv Thakare, Sajid Khan, Gori Nagori and Abdu Rozik. The five created a different world for themselves in the madhouse. Their bond only grew stronger with time as they stood for each other, and even fought battles together. The ‘mandali’ would also share some sweet innocent moments together, pulling each other’s legs, and cracking jokes. This helped audiences see through Stan’s diamond-studded personality, and witness the young slum boy, who wrote his own destiny.
Every celebrity who has visited the Bigg Boss 16house showed their love towards Stan’s ‘raw and real’ personality. They also heaped praise on his talent for rapping. Be it Ranveer Singh, Vicky Kaushal to Kiara Advani, celebrities could not stop themselves from grooving to his tunes. They would also often request him to use the word ‘shemdi’ which has now become popular worldwide, thanks to him using it during a fight.
Even while the ‘mandali’ was MC Stan’s priority, he also befriended Tina Datta, and one of his ugliest fights was because of her. As readers would remember, Tina had sprained her leg, and Shalin, who was trying to woo her, rushed to help her. This is when Stan asked him to back off as he feared he would hurt her. This led to the two men having a fight, where they almost pounced on each other. As a punishment, Stan got nominated for a few weeks by Bigg Boss. And while Stan went quieter after the incident, his love for his friends was noticed by fans, who found another reason to love him.
Just before New Year’s for the first time, the Bigg Boss house saw a special concert where a few young musicians got the chance to perform. MC Stan joined them and put up a stupendous act, leaving the audience present to roar for him. At that very moment, the contestants and the television audience realised how popular a star MC Stan is in the real world.
In the last league of the show, the rapper showed a different side of himself. From his witty one-liners to his style statements, Stan showed if he’s come this far, he will go back with the trophy. And while he still claims that he’d want his brother Shiv to win, there have been moments in the show when he’s spoken to himself about wanting to win.
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During the media round in the Bigg Boss 16 house, MC Stan was asked what brought out a new side in him. He shared that he gained confidence slowly as he started getting comfortable with everyone. He revealed how he would get scared seeing everyone’s ‘hyper activeness’. Stan said, “They would fight on trivial issues and I would be shocked why they are behaving so abnormally. I felt like a misfit here. I have seen a lot in my life and I find this very immature.”
Sana Farzeen is an assistant editor at Indian Express Online and covers Entertainment across platforms. Apart from writing articles, features and opinions, she enjoys interviewing celebrities on video. An alumna of Calcutta University, Sana has previously worked with the Times Group and Tellychakkar. You can contact her at sana.farzeen@indianexpress.com. ... Read More