Bigg Boss 11, India’s biggest reality’s 11th season were 19 people from all walks of life came to participate and put themselves in extremely competitive and intense condition for more than 100 days, with the dream of lifting that one title which might change their lives forever. This season had celebrities and commoners but they were given almost equal treatment unlike BB10. However, not all of them could dominate the season as this one man did. He came with an image of a channel head, a producer, and a person who has achieved a lot of success at the age of 29. He is none other than VIKAS GUPTA!

Bigg Boss, in its entire history, has not witnessed any contestant who has not only dominated the show but who has run the show singlehandedly for all 100 days. Vikas entered the reality show with his real-life rival Shilpa Shinde. How can we forget the way both of them started arguing in front of Salman on the stage? Both of them entered with their side of stories and soon set the house on fire like never before.

Vikas’ first test of patience and strength started from here only. For the full five weeks, he was tortured by Shilpa Shinde and Akash Dadlani. The duo made Vikas’ life a living hell. Shilpa left no stone unturned to torture Vikas. Be it commenting on his sexuality, his career, his physical appearance, or his professional conduct, every single thing was used to take the so-called revenge. That utter bullying was called “cute fight” by many and it made things more and more difficult for Vikas. Yes, he tried to escape from the Bigg Boss house and he also broke the jail. He did it because he did not want to fall to a low level and answer that woman, he did not want to do something which he would regret in the future. However, his resistance and patience paid off when Shilpa finally gave up her unwarranted bullying and both, Shilpa and Vikas, moved on.

Let’s get it clear that Vikas’ journey cannot be restricted to Shilpa Shinde alone. The man grew and how! He made friends and foes in Bigg Boss’ house and he proved how loyal a friend he is. He had entered with two people he already knew outside, Priyank Sharma and Benafsha Soonawalla. Little did he know that this friendship will become his weakness rather than his strength in Bigg Boss’ house. Priyank Sharma got evicted because of his violent action and his return was even more problematic for Vikas. Benafsha’s childish behavior made Vikas lose his cool on both of them. No matter what, Vikas always cared for his friends, always kept telling them where they are going wrong. Despite the rude behavior of both, Vikas never left them alone. Both of them eventually realized that Vikas was the only true friend of them in BB but it was too little and too late for Vikas.

Vikas Gupta made friends like Arshi Khan and Hiten Tejwani in the house. The trio had its moments of joy, fun entertainment and they kept their friendship above give-and-take relationship. While Vikas and Hiten shared a different bond altogether and they not even once had an argument, the bond between Vikas and Arshi went through all ups and downs. As the weeks passed, the bond kept getting stronger. Hiten and Arshi both actively supporting Vikas even after their eviction. Vikas’ bond with Jyoti Singh is another example of how genuine he is to the people he cares about. Jyoti Singh, whom the entire house called arrogant and rude, called Vikas her brother. Even if it was only a few days of the journey together, Vikas promised Jyoti that he will meet her and help her as soon as he comes out of Bigg Boss. Even in the last week of the show, he was talking about things he has to do for Jyoti. His rivals including Shilpa Shinde, Luv Tyagi, Hina Khan, Puneesh Sharma accepted that Vikas’ loyalty towards his friend is proved beyond doubt and he is the man of his words who will fulfill the promises he makes.

When Vikas Gupta cried, people would call him ‘cry baby’, ‘coward’, and someone also wished that he cries more and more but when any other person in the BB house was crying, they would find Vikas with them. Regardless of the relations, Vikas stood by everyone in the house. Arshi Khan who was being treated as a characterless woman and who was getting slut-shamed every week found a friend in Vikas. No matter what other housemates said and done, Vikas not only supported Arshi but kept telling her that ‘these people do not deserve your tears’. When Priyank broke down after Divya’s words, Vikas held him and consoled him. He was Vikas who told Priyank ‘you have done a lot of wrong things in the house and now you got an opportunity to fix those mistakes and earn back the respect and fame you had’. When Shilpa cried because of Akash, Vikas consoled her. When Hina cried as Luv had betrayed her, Vikas went to her and said ‘this is the game. People may not give you what you had given them’.

Vikas Gupta, who gets blamed for all bad things, shown the most sensitive and humane face in Bigg Boss. Regardless of the situation and person, Vikas stood up for everyone who needed him. Nothing can describe Vikas’ humanity better than the ‘torture task’ where Bandagi Karla was being tortured with chilly powder. Vikas being a Sanchalak, not only threw the chilly powder away but hide it so that no one will use it. He stopped Bandagi from doing it on the opposition team and he was successful in doing so. In the initial weeks when the first torture task took place, Vikas stopped Ben from doing anything which will be painful for opposition teammates. He stopped Priyank from using ginger on Akash during the dome task because he knew that Akash has an allergy problem. He stopped Arshi from doing disgraceful things on Shilpa’s doll during a task. He ensured that any task should not become inhuman and ugly.

Vikas has shown all shades of a perfect contestant throughout the season. He was titled as Mastermind for his ability to turn the tables in every task by sheer genius strategies. We saw him cooking and doing other kitchen duties when Arshi was captain. We saw him cooking for him, Hina, and Akash last week when Shilpa’s “only I feed you” behavior became too much to tolerate for them. We saw Vikas as a complete entertainer on weekends when guests will come and they would give tasks to housemates. We saw Vikas as a mature and sensible person in the house who would give the right advice to everyone, including Akash, and request them not to behave crazy. We saw Vikas taking a tough stand against the ‘woman card’ which is being played in Bigg Boss house for years. We saw not getting emotional on many occasions and we also saw him controlling himself when was getting cornered and bullied. We saw a loyal friend in him who will not support you when you’re wrong but who will not throw you under the bus when everyone else is against you. We saw a caring son who was worried about how his mother would be in Padosi house and how people outside will react to her actions. We saw a brother missing his brother Siddharth at times.

Bigg Boss may find many contestants in upcoming seasons but there will be no Vikas Gupta ever. The man who gave his heart and soul to the show, the man who kept the class and dignity alive despite all getting tortured continuously, and the man who proved that being sensible, practical, and loyal to your people is still not out of fashion. He proved that it is not muscle but mind which rules at the end. He saw us that you do not need to stoop low just to win a show but your kindness and gentleness will turn your enemies into your friends. Thanks a lot, Vikas Gupta for everything that you have given to the show and the viewers.

My blogs on Pritam Singh and Keith Sequeira are here. Please read them as well.