Manu Punjabi on linkup rumours with Nikki Tamboli: 'Do jawan ladka ladki dost bhi hote hai'

Manu Punjabi, who had entered Bigg Boss 14 as a challenger but had to quit after he had a strong pancreatic attack, has addressed rumours suggesting that Nikki Tamboli and he are dating.

Bigg Boss 14 challenger Manu Punjabi has opened up on linkup rumours with Nikki Tamboli. In a new interview, he said that they are good friends and intend to keep their friendship going.

Manu Punjabi and Nikki Tamboli struck a friendship despite his short stay inside the Bigg Boss 14 house.

Bigg Boss 14 saw people other than the contestants enter the house and be part of it. If the start of the TV show saw 'seniors' Sidharth Shukla, Hina Khan and Gauahar Khan take part in the day-to-day affairs, much later a bunch of challengers were introduced into the arena. Manu Punjabi was part of the group which also included Vikas Gupta, Rahul Mahajan, Arshi Khan, Kashmera Shah and Rakhi Sawant. He was forced to quit the show after a severe pancreatic attack. He was attacked by Rakhi for his proximity to Nikki.

Speaking to Times of India, he addressed the issue and said: "I'm very much friends with Nikki and also wish to continue our friendship outside the house. I would love to meet her, know her and also to work with her. There is nothing wrong in that. I don't care about people talking anything about us. Our society has grown up and today we can say proudly that do jawan ladka ladki dost bhi hote hai (a young man and woman can be just friends too)."

On the subject of whether he was dating her, Manu said he doesn't know her well yet. "I don't really know much about her. She is interesting and is one among those who made the season a hit. I'm a foodie and Gujarat loves serving food. I would love to explore Gujarat along with her (laughs). Nikki and I are friends, let's see what time has in store for us. But at the end of the day, all I can say is she is good at heart. I got a very less time to spend inside the house and I have really known her a little only," he was quoted as saying in the same report.

Nikki has successfully reached the finale of Bigg Boss 14 along with Rubina Dilaik, Rahul Vaidya, Rakhi Sawant and Aly Goni. A couple of days ago, there was strong buzz that Nikki may have chosen to pick ₹6 lakhs and quit the show.