After a three-month long battle inside the Bigg Boss 12 house, TV actress Dipika Kakar defeated former Indian cricketer Sreesanth to bag the reality show trophy on Sunday.
Talking to IANS, an overjoyed Dipika said, "I am on cloud nine. I thank my fans for making me win this show. Without their support, this would not have happened."
Dipika, who first shot to fame with her enthralling performance in "Sasural Simar Ka" also thanked the Almighty for the achievement. The actress said she has planned out to visit "Ajmer Sharif" before heading home.
"I am a believer of God. Before coming to 'Bigg Boss', I promised myself if I win the show, I shall offer prayers at Ajmer Sharif, Now that I have won the show, I will go there for sure," said Dipika, who received a cash prize worth Rs 30 lakh and a trophy by host Salman Khan.
She also praised Salman for being the "kindest" host. She said he helped her in improving her mistakes throughout the show.
"Salman sir is one of the kindest person. Every weekend he used to come and tell us where we are going wrong in the show. He taught me many things," the 32-year old told IANS.
Winner #BB12 @ms_dipika.#BB12GrandeFinale #BiggBoss12Finale pic.twitter.com/HpBdq4nfnd
— COLORS (@ColorsTV) December 30, 2018
"And my dream came true when I performed with him in the grand finale episode. That was a fan girl moment for me, will miss him especially his scoldings," she added.
Dipika gave a strong competition to former cricketer and co-contestant Sreesanth, who turned out to be the runner up of the show.
Dipika shared a close bond with Sreesanth and considered him as her brother in the show.A
So when asked was it tough to compete against his so called brother in finale, Dipika said: " I never fought against him. I was very confident that 'Big Boss' is about being you and I would be myself and that's the reason why I have won the show.A
"No doubt, bhai (Sreesanth) was my stronger competition but I never considered him as a foe and never felt that I have to win against him."
While talking about her journey, Dipika said it was full of high and low moments, which she would like to cherish forever.
She feels that her patience level has increased multifold after having stayed in the "Bigg Boss" house for 90 days.
"This show has tested my patience and has made me so strong that now I won't hesitate to fight any obstacle. My patience level has increased so much , I hope i would fight less with Shoaib Ibrahim ( her husband-actor),"Deepika laughed.
Besides Dipika and Sreesanth, Romil Chaudhary, Karanvir Bohra and Deepak Thakur were the other three contestants who made it to the top five finalists' list.
Dipika was already a popular face on the small screen for playing the lead role on Sasural Simar Ka. However, the contestants often called her fake and accused her of acting like her reel character Simar as she was too emotional and took care of people around her, especially Sreesanth.
But this seems to have worked for her as her fans were impressed by her conduct. Even Salman Khan called her one of the most dignified actors in the country on the show. While she never had ugly fights with any of the contestants, she has seldom been nominated for evictions.
Deepak Thakur, who had the least votes amongst the top three finalists, hit the buzzer to claim Rs. 20 lakh from the prize money, which is the biggest exit money across all seasons of Bigg Boss.
#RomilChoudhary, #DeepakThakur, @ms_dipika, @sreesanth36 aur @KVBohra hain kaafi khush top 5 tak pahunchkar aur @BiggBoss ne di iski badhaai! #BB12 #BB12GrandFinale #BiggBoss12 pic.twitter.com/Vi9xAHIuFn
— COLORS (@ColorsTV) December 30, 2018
The grand finale of the show opened with the finalists being congratulated by Bigg Boss for making it to the top - they raised a roast and popped the champagne!
Ahead of the winner announcement, what led to the cliff-hanging moment was a blockbuster episode with Salman Khan joining the finalists inside the house for stellar performances to his songs, just like every year. With Dipika Kakar and Sreesanth, Salman danced to the title song of Partner and Character Dheela.
Drumrolls! The winner of #BB12 is @ms_dipika, she not only won the Bigg trophy but our hearts as well. Here's to the star, a huge congratulations for bagging the Bigg title. #BiggBoss12 #BB12GrandFinale pic.twitter.com/UF3Pog23pt
— COLORS (@ColorsTV) December 30, 2018
.@ms_dipika, @sreesanth36 aur @BeingSalmanKhan aa rahe hain aapka dil jeetne #BB12GrandFinale mein ek shaandaar performance ke saath! Are you excited to watch them tonight at 9 PM? #BB12 #BiggBoss12@iamappyfizz @oppomobileindia @TheGarnierMan @letsdroom pic.twitter.com/Jgl0GWVNWZ
— Bigg Boss (@BiggBoss) December 30, 2018
#BB12GrandFinale will definitely make you go gaga over @BeingSalmanKhan and @sreesanth36 all over again. Make sure to watch their awesome performance tonight at 9 PM! #BB12 #BiggBoss12@iamappyfizz @oppomobileindia @TheGarnierMan @letsdroom pic.twitter.com/xKEa0BtIfu
— Bigg Boss (@BiggBoss) December 30, 2018
Sreesanth and Dipika Kakar, who stood by each other through the show, enacted their real life rapport through an act of performance to the songs Yeh Ladka Hai Deewana and Tu Jo Mila.
.@sreesanth36 and @ms_dipika's adorable relationship truly won countless hearts and their dance performance truly is the accurate representation of their ups and downs! #BB12 #BiggBoss12 #BB12GrandFinale #BiggBoss12Finale pic.twitter.com/EDe63SfXZR
— COLORS (@ColorsTV) December 30, 2018
Meanwhile, Romil Chaudhary, Sreesanth and Karanvir Bohra also had a dance-off of sorts on the show and set the stage on fire to Khali Bali. Somi Khan and Deepak Thakur also performed to romantic numbers.
#SomiKhan and #DeepakThakur get together for a romantic performance and it's absolutely beautiful! Are you watching this spectacular moment? #BB12 #BiggBoss12 #BiggBoss12Finale pic.twitter.com/wJGPLhMTqB
— COLORS (@ColorsTV) December 30, 2018
Ahead of the announcement, the tensed atmosphere on the show was diffused with the entry of comedienne Bharti, who delivered a cute performance to Dil Diyan Gallan along with Salman Khan. Bharti also left the audience in splits as she hilariously joked about her matrimonial offer to Salman Khan.
#BB12GrandFinale mein lagega hungama ka tadka jab @BeingSalmanKhan milenge #RohitShetty aur #KKK9 ke khiladiyon se! Catch all their interesting gupshup tonight at 9 PM on #BB12. #BiggBoss12 pic.twitter.com/Xq35nf9Nwm
— Bigg Boss (@BiggBoss) December 30, 2018
The Bigg Boss finale also saw Simmba director Rohit Shetty make a grand entry with his daredevil Khatron Ke Khiladis Ridhima Pandit, Jasmine Bhasin and Aditya Narayan.
#AdityaNarayan ke saath mil kar machayengi @bharti_lalli #BB12GrandFinale mein dhoom aur saath hi hogi khiladiyon ke saath nok jhok. Tune in tonight at 9 PM for your dose of entertainment. #BB12 #BiggBoss12@iamappyfizz @oppomobileindia @TheGarnierMan @letsdroom pic.twitter.com/XYLuOnakYj
— Bigg Boss (@BiggBoss) December 30, 2018
The Khiladis @PanditRidhima, #AdityaNarayan and @jasminbhasin are here and are rocking the #BiggBoss12 stage with their fiery performance. #BB12 #BiggBoss12Finale #BB12GrandFinale pic.twitter.com/ZdNkR4iJd0
— COLORS (@ColorsTV) December 30, 2018