Exclusive: Ridhima Pandit on doing Bigg Boss OTT for visibility, no income during lockdown, pay-cuts, and more

Bahu Humari Rajni_kant fame Riddhima Pandit, who is one of the popular contestants of Bigg Boss OTT chatted with ETimes TV exclusively, before entering the show. The actress opened up about the difficult phase when she lost her mother due to COVID this year and how she overcame it. She refuses to talk about her late mother as she doesn't want people to feel that she's trying to gain sympathy. Riddhima opened up about taking up the responsibility of paying her mother's hospital bills and having no income during lockdown as she stayed away from work due to the pandemic. She spoke about the reason behind doing the show and stated that Bigg Boss OTT is going to give her visibility. She now wants to focus on her career and become strong. Riddhima shared that her sister has hired a stylist for her and that she has been forced to take 20 over the top outfits inside the house. She further spoke about her favourite contestants from the previous seasons.

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I think the timing just felt right; it felt to just live for myself. I decided that now I want to focus on my career and want to become strong, because I can’t function without my family. Staying away from them is going to be a huge challenge, but I love challenges and I decided to take it up.

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I don’t like to talk about my personal life much because I don’t want people to feel that I am trying to take any kind advantage or sympathy. But to tell you honestly, when I referred to now as my time in my previous answer, what I meant was when my mom was alive that time I didn’t want anything else in my life. I never wanted to be unavailable for her, I wanted to be there with her because she used to be unwell. She suffered a lot when she was alive, so to be not available for her or not to be in contact with her was something that I never wanted to do. Yes, there were long shooting schedules sometimes where I was away from home but I could at least see her and talk to her. Today, I feel she gave me the strength to reach so far in life and have the guts to take up the show. I will give my best on the show as I know she is my angel and she’s looking after me. I am unstoppable now.

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Yes, lockdown taught me a lot and how to stay in a confined space. My mom used to always tell me that you can’t stay in one place and you have to always go out. I was so done with staying at home during the lockdown and I think I underestimated the pandemic. But I think I am not going to have FOMO because we are still partially under the lockdown and things are slowly opening up in the outside world. Had I taken up the show during the normal time it would have definitely affected me.

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My weaknesses are more than my strengths and I have no shame in accepting it. That’s the reason I am not going over the top and saying things. I am also a normal human being and I also get angry and have mood swings. I cry a lot sometimes and when I don’t get food I get irritated. The difference is in the outside world people who love me will go out of their comfort zone to make me feel better. But in the Bigg Boss house everyone will be there to win the trophy and on their own journey. I am going inside the house at such a time when I need support the most. My strengths are I adapt very quickly, I am a people’s person. I don’t take much time to make friends. I take stand for right things and I am a no nonsense person. I am an impulsive person and whatever I feel I just blurt it out. I think I will gain control over all these things once I go inside the house.

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I hate bullying, I can’t handle it. If someone tries to get after my life, I am not going to spare that person and if I see it happening with someone else, I will stand for that person. It is very difficult to find positivity in a negative atmosphere but I will try to find positivity. I will first try to make things simple for the other person, but if that person wants to make things ugly, I am ok with that also. My dad always tells me one thing that when you wrestle with a pig, he enjoys it but you get plain dirty, so that is not my values. I have to remember this, I will momentarily lose my cool but I will calm down again.

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I am fine doing all the household chores because I don’t want to take the tag of kamchor. People who don’t work get highlighted and I don’t want to get tagged as kamchor.

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See, the older generation doesn’t understand shows like Bigg Boss. My parents have always been liberal and I’ve always taken my decisions. So when I signed up for Bigg Boss I informed my father about it and he was shocked. He asked why what happened? I told him that it is coming on OTT and it is going to be different. My sister enjoys the show a lot and in the last few years whenever I have rejected the show, she has always pushed me to take it up. Now, she’s the most excited one. My family is supporting me full on.

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My sister knows that the glam quotient is very high on the show. She has kept a stylist for me to make sure that I look good everyday. She has warned me to not look messy, clumsy or how I am at home. I am being forced to pack stylish outfits, you will see me wearing frilly gowns and outfits while doing household chores. I am taking 20 outfits which are over the top.

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Even I am OTT just like Karan Johar. I love all his movies and I love the way he conducts himself. I like the fact that he has mentored so many people. So he will understand our struggles and how difficult it is for us to survive in the house. It is his mother’s favourite show so he has a soft spot for the show.

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I liked Rubina Dilaik’s journey a lot and I liked how Shehnaaz was inside the house. She was entertaining and being herself. Being real in the show helps the contestants and I am also going to be that.

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Yes of course, during the lockdown I don’t think anyone has earned well like how we used to earn earlier. We had to take pay-cuts. I didn’t have any income because I did not take up any project. For me it was never a case that I had to pay my mother’s hospital bills but I took it upon myself and trust me that they were huge. It would be wrong to say that lootmaar machi hai but I just wonder how people who don’t have money get the medical facilities. But having said that financial pressure was never a reason to take up the show. The reason I am doing Bigg Boss OTT is the visibility. I didn’t want to be out of sight for my audience. People are so excited and I can see that they are happy to see me again on screen. This I missed a lot as an actor.

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If I put it on me yes of course I did the show because I had stopped earning during the lockdown. But by God’s grace I live with my parents and my father is really supportive. Financial reasons can never be a cause for me to take up something which I don’t want to do. This is something that I want to do and this is going to give me the limelight with the audiences. I am excited for this reason.

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