Hissar politico Sonali Phogat exits the Bigg Boss house to realise she can swing merrily between netagiri and Bollywood, because both take guts, performance and some good luck
Sonali Phogat told mid-day that she doesn't intend to return to Hissar immediately. Pic/Shadab Khan
Rajkumar Jangra, a BJP party worker in Hissar district of Haryana, is unsure about how Sonali Phogat, who has just exited the Bigg Boss house, will be received when she gets back to active political work. "It's her good luck that she reached where she did, and we, as party workers, are only happy for her. But everyone has their own point of view." Ask him if he is referring to the conservative nature of politics in Haryana, and he agrees. "Dehaat mein [rural India] people are conservative. So, of course, the masses may have a problem. But we can deal with it. Madam has always been a person who takes people along as she moves ahead. She gets along well with everyone, and gets the work done. She finds solutions," he says of Phogat, who held the position of National Vice President of BJP's Mahila Morcha.
Phogat agrees with Jangra. She think it's what saw her through the last 33 days on what's considered one of India's toughest reality show challenges. Phogat was eliminated last weekend from the hit show's 14th season, and while we had expected her to be back in Hissar, Phogat intends to hang on in Mumbai and explore work opportunities. Last Wednesday in fact, she was at a post-show press conference posing for photographers in a red pant suit, eager to talk. It's not the garb you expect a conventional politico to be in. But then, Phogat doesn't seem to play by the rules. She didn't inside the house either, when she confessed to on-off friend Arshi Khan that she had the hots for fellow paticipant, television actor Aly Goni. "Just because I am in politics, will I be targeted for my feelings? I've also always liked Dharamji [Dharmendra] and had told my husband to organise a meeting with him. When I used to talk to him for hours, my husband got jealous. I feel that about Salman Khan as well. I like them. Aly is a nice guy," she says, adding after a pause, "I want to tell all the kids who are trolling me that they will be 40 one day. Will they not have feelings then?"
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Sonali Phogat in her political avatar
Phogat's straight talk has been discussed even before she decided to try her hand at reality television. Born into a farmer family in Haryana, she was married right after Class X, and lost her husband early. She became an actor on the small screen with Ek Maa Jo Laakhon Ke Liye Bani Amma and made a big-screen debut with Chhoriyan Chhoron Se Kam Nahi Hoti. Phogat has also been an active performer on popular video app, TikTok. But it was in 2019 that she made headlines when she received a BJP ticket to contest the state elections from the Adampur constituency. In 2020, she was caught on camera assaulting Sultan Singh, the market committee secretary in Haryana, whom she claimed had made a derogatory pass at her.
In the house, the aggression was on display on few rare occasions, including a bizarrely quirky moment when she decided on a whim to pour water over Arshi Khan for shooting her mouth without a thought. Also, her fights with actress Niki Tamboli have been acidic, and her verbal repartee with Rubina Dilaik has ended with Phogat using the choicest expletives in Hindi.
In the early days of her joining, Phogat didn't manage too much screen time, with the likes or Tamboli branding her a nobody. After a few wise words from superstar Salman Khan, who headlines the show, she seemed to step up her game by speaking up, picking a fight if needed, and admitting that she had a soft corner for Goni. "In politics," she says, "we have to abide by certain beliefs and toe the line. Here, [on the show] it was the opposite. You can move ahead by cheating people, which you shouldn't do in politics. On the show, things just happen to you; you react in a way you didn't know you would. So, I learnt a lot about myself this last month. When I get angry, I break the rules. And it did happen a couple of times on the show too, but I was being myself. I don't fake it. I am sure that will take me far in politics." Politics, which Phogat says took up most of her time until now, may have to wait a bit. While her team is carrying on with work in Hissar, Phogat is in the mood to act some more.
Jangra says they will be happy when she returns as it's always good when a party worker shines elsewhere too. The messages from female party workers that came to her once she was out is proof that she was entertaining enough for them to have watched the show with their children. "My daughter said, 'I didn't think you would even last one week'," Phogat says of her 14 year-old.
Politics and Bollywood make happy bedfellows, she knows, making her plan to divide her time between her interests a feasible one. "I lasted 33 days in the house, so people must have liked me. I think they saw that I tried to take people along, and help them bond. That matters in politics. But I was discriminated against. Niki said, 'Who is she?' Well, I must be someone and that's why I was called on the show. My aim now is to make sure no one gets discriminated. Neither in Haryana, nor in the country."
Sonali uncensored
The contestant with the worse personal hygiene
Arshi Khan.
Rate Rakhi Sawant's intelligence on 1 to 10
Seven.
Aly Goni's sex appeal lies in his...
Personality.
Rubina Dilaik's most irritating habit is...
Attitude and fake laughter.
Who plays it safe and is a yes man to Salman Khan?
Aly Goni.
Who according to you is winning BB 14?
Rubina Dilaik.
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