Byculla jail to Bigg Boss: Jigna Vora gives the scoop on entering Bigg Boss 17, says ‘I am a warrior, not a victim’

The former journalist shared that it was her son who pressed her to do Bigg Boss so that her story could reach a wider audience. She said, “Today’s generation wants to be all out there. He is now 23, a young man and believes that his mother’s story should be known by the world. He is the main reason I am here as he told me that after the series, this is the next big move. He was like 100 people would have read your book while a thousand would have watched The Scoop but via this show, you will reach crores and everyone should know about you.”

Jigna Vora then went on to recall a heartening story about her time in the jail and how ‘Bigg Boss’ was an aspiration for many inmates. She said, “From Byculla to Bigg Boss, this is my new journey. As I had mentioned in my book, during my free time I would talk to inmates and we would say ‘bahar nikalne ke baad toh hum Bigg Boss mein jayenge (We would go to Bigg Boss after coming out of jail). We were just fooling around but I guess the universe was listening to me. This is such a remarkable coincidence in my life.”

Actor Karishma Tanna essayed the role of Jigna Vora in the Netflix show. As readers would know, she was also the first runner-up of Bigg Boss 8. When asked if she called Karishma and took some tips from her, the BB17 contestant said that she did not discuss her participation with anyone. “Apart from my close family members, no one knows that I am doing the show. So how could I even call Karishma? Honestly, it was so under the wraps that my son was questioning me if I was actually entering the show,” she laughed to share.

While people have read her book and watched the TV show, we asked Jigna what can we expect from her on the show. “I would like to be myself,” she shared, adding that she believes in standing tall and being true to herself. She shared, “I am a warrior and not a victim. I am not a bechari and don’t want to be treated like one. Whatever has happened, I have decided to move on and live a full life. After Scoop, people have realised that I am a strong personality and that’s what they would see.”

But is she scared about coming face to face about her past horrors in the show? Replying that nothing triggers her anymore, the writer said, “I have accepted my past and present. I believe in going with the flow. Yes, I would need to control my emotions but with age and time, you grow wiser. I am nothing much about it as that would be pretentious. I don’t want to go all prepared.”

Jigna Vora shared that while she is entering Bigg Boss 17 as an experience, she is also competitive enough to eye the trophy. She shared that she wants to challenge herself everyday and also enjoy. The former journalist added that she hopes her fraternity supports her and votes for her. “I would be fighting against popular celebrities and I hope they support meet. The fraternity has never stood up for me but since I would be representing everyone there, they should back me,” she added.

On a final note, the BB17 contestant shared that as a journalist she is conditioned to get involved in other people’s brawls and controversies. She added that she would also want to make issues out of topics. When we asked what’s the kind of questions she would like to ask host Salman Khan, Jigna went on to share a sweet memory with the superstar.

“Way back in 1990, when I had given my tenth standard exams and visited a movie theatre on the last day of exams with my friends. There we saw the Salman Khan shooting with Nagma on the song “Kaisa lagta hai”. I still remember the moment vividly. From watching him as a bystander to now sharing the stage with him… I think I would go speechless and have no question. I would just fall in love with him,” she added with a smile.

Apart from Jigna Vora, other contestants on Bigg Boss 17 are Mannara Chopra, Munawar Faruqui, Ankita Lokhande, Vicky Jain, Neil Bhatt, Aishwarya Sharma, Sahil Arya, Feroza Khan, Navid Sole, Anurag Dhobal, Isha Malviya, Abhishek Kumar, Rinku Dhawan, Arun Srikanth, Soniya Bansal and Sana Raees Khan.