Ashnoor Kaur on claims of hitting Tanya Mittal intentionally: She's been poking me for long | Interview

Bigg Boss 19 is heading towards its finale. Ahead of the last week, the Salman Khan-hosted show witnessed the sudden elimination of housemate Ashnoor Kaur. While Kaur was told to leave the show for breaking a house rule, many viewers called the decision unfair.

Ashnoor Kaur on being evicted from Bigg Boss 19

In a conversation with LiveMint, Ashnoor Kaur explained why she cannot call her eviction unfair.

She said, "I’m seeing people say my eviction was unfair. Many believe it wasn’t justified, but honestly, I’m still processing my emotions right now because there’s just too much going on. It was sudden for me as well — the fact that my journey ended, unfortunately, just one week before the finale. I entered the house with the vision of winning the trophy, and I was only a week away from it.”

For those who might not know, Bigg Boss evicted Ashnoor Kaur after she threw a wooden plank at Tanya Mittal during a task. While Kaur maintained that it wasn't intentional, many viewers called it physical violence.

Did Ashnoor Kaur hit Tanya Mittal?

“I still stand by it," Kaur said about the incident.

“If you watch the clips, you can clearly see that the plank was extremely heavy. I have always given my 100%. I approached every task with full dedication, and in any physical task, I’ve always given my all. In this particular task, the plank was genuinely heavy. You can see in the clip that I was bent while holding the wooden plank; my shoulders were giving out. My plank filled up first, which means the weight was on me for a longer period. Gaurav Khanna also had the weight, but obviously, he is stronger than me. The moment the task ended, I just wanted to put the weight down because my body couldn’t take it anymore. It was shown as if I hit Tanya or did it intentionally, but that’s not true. I said the same thing while leaving the show, and I still stand by it.”

She added, "I did not hit Tanya because I’m not that person. I respect the house rules, and if you don’t respect the platform, it reflects your own values.”

Ashnoor Kaur vs Tanya Mittal

Ashnoor Kaur and Tanya Mittal were at loggerheads several times on the reality show.

She commented, "Honestly, she (Tanya Mittal) had been poking me for a long time. There were so many moments where I could have reacted aggressively, but that’s not who I am. Whether it was body-shaming or other things, I chose to stay calm. I realised later that the audience could only see my reactions and not her provocation. I understand that in a one-hour episode, everything cannot be shown. But what that lady put me through was too much. We used to have verbal arguments, and in the last few weeks, I started responding because there's a limit to everything. But physical violence was never an option for me.”

How did Bigg Boss 19 change Ashnoor Kaur?

She shared, "The journey has changed me not just through the experiences, but also in terms of how I entered the show as a person and came out as a completely changed individual. Bigg Boss is like a concise version of life, where you learn in just four months what might otherwise take four years. It has taught me how to handle situations, how to read people, and so much more. It was truly a life-changing experience.”

Kaur revealed her mother was the first person she hugged after leaving the Bigg Boss house.

Ashnoor Kaur and Abhishek Bajaj's bond

She also met fellow housemate Abhishek Bajaj outside the show.

“We are best friends. He was the first person I met when I stepped out of the house. I believe jo bhi organic cheez hoti hai, that bond genuinely translated on screen, and the audience could connect with us. I’m glad we met inside the house; it is something very precious and pure to me," she said about her viral bond with Bajaj.

Ahead of the grand finale, Ashnoor Kaur picked her favourite. When asked whom she wants to win the season, she answered, “Pranit More.”

Bigg Boss 19 winner will be announced on 7 December. The show is now streaming on JioHotstar and airing on Colors TV.