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Alliance winner Mini Mathur on Kushal Tandon backlash: Don’t believe in making someone feel rotten in public
After winning Alliance Mini Mathur opened up about why she chose to not confront Kushal publicly and more
She wasn’t among the favourites to win Alliance, but Mini Mathur quietly outplayed the competition to lift the trophy of the game show. Looking back, the television host admits that winning was never her objective when she agreed to do the reality show. Instead, she signed up to challenge herself and step outside the comfort zone she had built over a three-decade-long career.
Mini on winning Alliance
Speaking to HT City, Mini says she had her share of apprehensions before entering the show. “I never saw myself as a reality show stereotype. I knew that in reality shows everyone is very aggressive and super focused. When Alliance approached me and said this is about games in the arena, I said yes because anyone who knows me knows I am a very competitive game person. Whether it’s board games, game nights or fitness challenges, I love them all.”
She admits the bigger concern was leaving behind the life she had built and wondering how audiences would perceive her after six weeks on a reality show.
“I wasn’t sure if I would be able to do 42 days in captivity. I wondered, ‘Will this undo everything I’ve gained in 30 years of my career? Will it show me in a light that I do not want to be seen as? Will I be able to be authentic?’ But I decided I needed to shake myself up and prove something to myself. I never got into it thinking I had to win. I just took it one week at a time.”
Was Mini scared to call out Kushal publicly?
Her gameplay also attracted criticism, particularly over her equation with fellow contestant Kushal Tandon. Several viewers felt she privately disagreed with him but rarely challenged him in front of the group. Mini, however, insists that public confrontation has never been her way of handling people.
“Some people do not like to be interrupted or advised in front of everyone. As a mother, I know when to tell somebody something in public and when to take them aside and speak gently. I don’t believe in public confrontations where I make someone feel rotten about themselves just to get footage. I don’t need to do that. Whatever I had to say, I took them aside and said it. They listened, agreed to some things and disagreed on others.”
Despite the physical exhaustion, injuries and tense moments inside the show, Mini says she never once considered walking away.
“Not a single day did I say I cannot do this any longer. Even when we had hardly slept, when we were getting injured or there was toxicity around us, I was enjoying the show because I loved the challenges. I wanted to play every game, even the ones that were not meant for me,” she ends.
