Bigg Boss 18 contestant, Sara Arfeen Khan talks about Rajat Dalal's loss and Karan Veer Mehra's win, says "Voting lines main kuch hack hua tha..." | EXCLUSIVE

Sara Arfeen Khan talks about her BB18 journey

Bigg Boss 18 contestant Sara Arfeen Khan recently opened up about her experiences in the reality show. In an exclusive interview with Money Control, Sara shared her thoughts on her bond with Rajat Dalal, her frustrations with Karan Veer Mehra's manipulative behaviour during the show, and the controversy surrounding the show's voting system.

Sara revealed that she had developed a strong connection with Rajat Dalal during their time in the Bigg Boss house. She praised Rajat's genuine and kind nature, saying that he was a clear winner in her eyes. However, Sara expressed her disappointment and surprise when Karan Veer was announced as the winner instead.

According to Sara, Karan Veer's victory was not entirely legitimate. She alleged that there was a hack in the voting lines, which affected the outcome of the show. Sara emphasised that Rajat Dalal was the true winner, and that the hacking incident had unfairly denied him the trophy.

Experts from the Interview:

Do you miss watching Bigg Boss?

Sara shared her thoughts on life after Bigg Boss, saying, "I only started watching it after I left." She admitted feeling a sense of emptiness now that the constant drama is over, adding that transitioning back to normal life felt "very weird, like everything is on pause."

You must be aware of the online drama going on between Rajat Dal and Karan Veer Mehra. What do you have to say about that?

Sara expressed her views on the Bigg Boss finale controversy, stating, "Karan Veer doesn't even have half the audience Rajat has. It's quite evident that there was some hack in the voting, which we were informed about even during the finale. Everyone knew it was Vivian and Rajat in the top two." She emphasised that the unexpected outcome raised many questions among the contestants.

Do you think Bigg Boss was unfair when they gave the trophy to Karan Veer?

Sara defended Bigg Boss against accusations of unfairness, saying, "Bigg Boss cannot be unfair because it relies on votes. They cannot tamper with the voting process, as any complaint would allow them to prove transparency. However, it's clear that something went wrong with the voting lines, likely due to hackers or agencies we were unaware of." She highlighted that the issue seemed to lie beyond the show's control.

You were seen supporting Rajat Dal at the support meet-up organised by Elvish Yadav. How did that go?

Sara shared her experience of attending a Rajat Dalal meet-up, saying, "I was just informed about it and was asked if I’d like to attend. Of course, I said yes, so my husband and I went. The crowd was massive—over 60,000-70,000 people! It was unbelievable. I’ve never seen such a turnout for a Bigg Boss contestant. The love I received because of Rajat Dalal was overwhelming. From the stage, they were shouting, 'Sara, we love you.' It was surreal. After the event, I couldn’t even get out of my vanity car because of the crowd. Bouncers had to be called for my protection. I have a video clip of the crowd surrounding my car. It was overwhelming and a bit scary, but the love I felt was just unreal.”

What do you think about influencers and YouTubers organising such meetups, and since there was criticism from the press on one of the episodes, do you think its right?

Sara shared her thoughts on the difference between acting fans and fans of YouTubers or content creators: "Jo acting kay fans hote hai voh alag hote hai, aur jo youtubers aur content creators kay jo fans hote hai voh alag hote hai. Acting kay fans agar aap popular ho toh aapko fans milte hai, aap kabhi screen main nahi dikhoge toh voh fans marr jaayenge. They are dead fans, dead followers. But Youtuber fans, content fans, they are your real followers and they are always there with you, they are there for what you have done and not for what you have given.

"Youtubers have massive real fans, whether you are on Instagram later or you are putting non-stop content or no, they will be your fans and they will go anywhere out for you. I have been an actor, I’ve done shows, when my show is running everybody was my fan. I did a lot of shows, I did films too, but when I went for my sabbatical, when I went to London, when I went delivering the baby and I wanted to start a family. So I took a setback for five years. They forgot me and my followers reduced. And then when I came back in Bigg Boss, then they remembered me. Acting fans move on, but youtubers and content creators, they are with you and fans can relate to them.

"Aisa toh kuch likha nahi hai ki meet-ups nahi kar sakte, they are showing their love, and unfortunately, actors ka meet-up nahi ho raha hai toh what can we do? Actors are somehow disconnected with their fans and they are unreachable. Rajat Dalal immediately went to meet fans as soon as he finished Bigg Boss. Even I’m shocked because me as an actor, I was blown away by the love and the support that these guys came from God knows where to support Rajat. It was crazy.

"So I’ve never seen a crowd like this coming and organising within four days. People were just told four days in advance and within four days this happened. Aap Insta Live main bhi dekho, matlab zameen-aasmaan ka farak tha, aapko lagta hai yeh log Rajat kay liye vote nahi kiye honge? Yeh log sab raat bhar baith kar vote kiye honge."

Have you spoken to Rajat after Bigg Boss ended?

Sara also mentioned her ongoing connection with Rajat Dalal, saying, "Yes, yes but he is busy traveling, you know, Ahmedabad-Delhi and all these places. I'm still giving him time, he's going to come to Mumbai very soon, so then we are going to meet and talk properly."

Do you think Rajat is upset about not winning the trophy?

Sara also expressed her feelings about the outcome of the show and mentioned, "Obviously, everybody was upset that he didn't get the trophy and not just upset, we were shocked as well. But it is a game and now everyone has to move on. Ab kya karen?"

What’s your opinion on Elvish Yadav?

Sara shared her thoughts on Elvish, saying, "Elvish is how he is, Elvish is very straightforward. YouTubers are real people, not bound by the same rules as actors. They don’t have to worry about diplomacy or how the media perceives them. That raw authenticity is what makes them so appealing."

Do you think Karan Veer was different inside Bigg Boss house and pretending to be good while in real life he is very different.

Sara also shared her thoughts on Karan Veer, saying, "Karan Veer ka mujhe outside zyada nahi pta, I have met only twice at a party. He is a nice guy, not going to say he is a bad guy. But outside people are loving him the way he played in because inside he was very manipulative and really annoying actually. All the contestants found him very annoying apart from obviously Chum and Shilpa. But I know ki he was playing, he was portraying this person, aur uska one and a half month tk toh koi game hee nhi tha, he was just cycling. Even Bigg Boss had to tell him that we are not seeing you and we are only seeing you cycling.

But when he played also, it was just manipulating, he was taking out people's personal life, twisting it, and throwing it on people. Jaise usne mujhe bola ki 'Sara ek baat btao, How did you marry a Muslim guy? Did you follow Islam after marriage, before marriage? How is it?' I just told him I had a lot of friends from all different types of religions, and I studied many religions. I studied Christianity, Judaism, and all that, and I got inclined, jaise calling hota hai na kisi ka, jaisa Vivian ka bhi calling tha towards Islam. So many people have the calling of Hare Rama Hare Krishna, Buddhism, and all that aur mera calling tha, and I felt pulled towards this religion and I followed it before I got married.

But he went and told Arfeen the next day—'Sara told me that she was forced to convert into Islam'—and he did that on national television. You know how much my mom had to suffer for that, how much Arfeen's brother had to suffer, because we were inside, we didn’t know. And Arfeen didn’t tell me this. I found out later, and if I had known, I would have killed him inside for saying such a thing.

Karan Veer plays nasty, he plays very nasty, and now at the end of the day, the game is over. He played his stupid games inside and we have to move on. I’m going to meet everybody. I want to meet every contestant because it's for my heart."

Any updates about the Bigg Boss 18 Reunion?

Sara mentioned that she’s working on organising something unique, and she’s currently planning a party in Goa. She said, "I want to do something different, I am trying to do a party in Goa, toh voh chlra hai abhi tak, thoda time lagega."

So, Sarah, what’s next for you? Any upcoming projects?

While talking about her upcoming projects, Sara mentioned, "Right now, I’m still busy with interviews and events related to Bigg Boss. I plan to take a short break, clear my head, and then decide my next steps. I’m looking forward to exploring some interesting roles in web series."