Tanishaa Mukerji has opened up about her experience on Bigg Boss, admitting that the reality show left her more “guarded” and deeply impacted because of the way contestants and even viewers dragged her family into conversations for attention.In a recent conversation with Mamaraazzi, Tanishaa reflected on why audiences may have perceived her differently during her stint on the show despite still remembering her fondly.“A lot of people still remember me from Bigg Boss and say things like, ‘Tanisha is so cool, entertaining and honest.’ But definitely on Bigg Boss, I don’t think I spoke out as much because I wasn’t very comfortable with the language,” she admitted.The actor revealed that her communication on the show was largely in English, which often did not make it to air. “It’s embarrassing to say, but most of my communication was in English, not so much in Hindi. My Hindi is much, much better now than it was 10-12 years ago. At that time, a lot of my communication was cut from the show because I spoke in English,” she said.
‘People were using my family’s name for screen time’
Tanishaa also shared that she consciously avoided conflicts inside the house because she did not want backlash affecting her family. “I consciously chose not to say a lot of things because I didn’t want to get into conflicts or spaces where there could be backlash on my family. Even then, people were just finding reasons to talk about me and my family,” she said.According to the actor, she only realised after exiting the show how heavily conversations around her family had been used as content. “I had no idea until I came out of the house that people were using my name, my sister’s name, my brother-in-law’s name just to get screen time. That was my naivety. Today, I would never put myself in that position again where anybody feels they have the right to say anything about my family because of me,” she added.Tanishaa said she never resorted to attacking contestants personally or bringing up their families during arguments. “I never went to the camera and said things like, ‘Woh kaisi family se aati hai?’ or judged somebody’s upbringing. For me, a reality show meant the camera is a voyeur looking into a real space. I always used to tell everybody, ‘I’m not in competition with any of you. My competition is with Bigg Boss,’” she recalled.The actor further admitted that the experience changed her as a person. “That experience definitely made me a lot more guarded because people really did go after my family. Even the channel upset me at times,” she said.She also recalled being upset when questions were raised about why her family members were not visiting her inside the house. “They would say things like, ‘Why is her family not coming to see her in the house?’ And I was like, ‘You’re paying everybody here. My family members are massive celebrities. If you’re willing to pay them, they’ll come. Why should they come for free?’ This is still a TV show. Everybody is getting paid,” she said.
‘Reality shows survive on trauma’
When asked whether the experience was traumatic, Tanishaa agreed without hesitation. “Definitely. Bigg Boss and these reality shows survive on trauma. Even the friendships there are trauma bonds,” she said.“Trust me, once you heal, you realise those people are not really your friends anymore because you’ve healed past that trauma. Suddenly, you don’t find certain behaviour or conversations interesting anymore,” she added.Despite the difficult experience, Tanishaa said she believes it shaped her personality and made her stronger. “Things happen in your life that shape who you become. Maybe that phase was meant to happen for me to become this person. Maybe it could have happened differently, maybe it didn’t have to hurt my family so much, but it did. And you become stronger, tougher and more guarded after that,” she explained.
Why she said yes to Khatron Ke Khiladi after Bigg Boss
Interestingly, after Bigg Boss, Tanishaa went on to participate in Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi, a decision she says came from her love for adventure rather than fame.“Actually, I did Khatron Ke Khiladi after that, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Colors had approached me for Jhalak at that time too, but I didn’t do it because I felt it would be the same kind of space again,” she shared.“But Khatron Ke Khiladi was different. I love adventure, crazy stunts, bungee jumping, skydiving — I’ve done all of that. So I was excited to try it,” she added.Tanishaa described the experience on the stunt-based reality show as far more positive. “I did Khatron Ke Khiladi two years after Bigg Boss and I genuinely enjoyed it. I got really fit after the show too. It was a bunch of mad, fun, crazy people and we had a great time,” she said.Opening up about why she initially turned to reality television, Tanishaa admitted that she hoped it would help audiences see her beyond the image attached to her film career. “With Bigg Boss, I was in a space in movies where I wasn’t getting the kind of roles I wanted. It felt like something that could break people’s perception of me. I was coming from a very protected and guarded environment, so I thought maybe people should get to know who I really am,” she said.However, she added that reality TV did not necessarily change her career trajectory. “Going into Bigg Boss didn’t suddenly get me films. It proved that it doesn’t really work like that,” she concluded.
