Seema Parihar was a nobody till weeks ago. Now a household name after Bigg Boss 4, Parihar was just 12 when she was taken away by a few bandits. She later stayed in the jungles for the next 18 years when she was put behind bars. Three years of imprisonment led to freedom and she was back to her family after which Bigg Boss happened to her. The lady with an enigmatic past is ready to face the spotlight. TellyChakkar talks to her. How has your journey been in the Bigg Boss house? When I moved out of the house I was feeling really bad as I had just three more weeks to go. If I had stayed in I would have got to stay with the rest of the housemates. But I am still happy I got 11 weeks inside the house and it is because of the people who voted for me. I have received a lot of love from the people there and I will never forget it. I am happy I got to meet my family today but am sad because I am away from my Bigg Boss family. Why do you think you survived in the house for so long? Did it come to you as a surprise? How many weeks had you given yourself? When Rajeev Chaddha (her mentor) came to leave me in the house he wanted to see me in the house for at least 10-12 weeks. For if I had to stay in the house for just 1-2 weeks no one would have really known who Seema Parihar is. And, I guess he was right as I did stay in the house for 11 weeks. I have learnt a lot during my stay in the house. What have you learnt inside the house? Every person is happy when they are with their biological family but when it comes to staying with strangers things get difficult. But in Bigg Boss house we stayed like one family. Veena Malik and Begum (Nawazish Ali) were from Pakistan but no one kept them away. No one said they were Pakistanis and we are Indians and so we should stay away from them. So I have learnt a lot. I had never thought I would be able to stay with strangers but now if you leave me with anyone I will be able to stay. Nor did I think that people would miss me so much after my elimination. Shweta Tiwari cried so much for me. How do you feel of having not told Manoj Tiwari that it was you who had voted him out when he suspected Shweta and Sameer Soni? Do you plan to meet him and sort out things now? I was an illiterate in the house, the others were literate. When I was called in the confession room I was asked by Bigg Boss not to discuss eliminations with anyone and that’s what I did. It was Manoj who was talking about Shweta and Sameer having eliminated him. He had told me he had arranged for recording of all the episodes and that he will check them once he is back home. So I told him to not do any guesswork and go back home and watch the footage. It is a game and even if my heart says not to vote for anyone I have to do it. When I had initially come to the show I felt just one or two people would be removed out of the house but later I realized this is how the game works. Considering the background you have come from and being an illiterate, was it stressful being with them and understanding them? Initially I used to feel bad when everyone spoke in English and I wouldn’t understand a bit but later Bigg Boss made it a rule for everyone to talk in Hindi and made things better. Anchal (Kumar) and Rahul (Bhatt) use to talk a lot in English when Bigg Boss punished them and then the housemates made it a point to stick to Hindi. Shweta has been very kind to me as she would repeat things for me twice and thrice till I actually got it. But, I used to still feel bad of the fact that I couldn’t read the notes sent by Bigg Boss as I was illiterate. If I knew how to read and write, Bigg Boss would have asked me to read it too. How did you feel being Salman Khan’s favourite in the house? And it wasn’t just him, even others like Sameer and Manoj accepted you well? I will never forget Manoj, Sameer and Shweta for all they have done for me. As far as Salman bhai’s love is concerned I just can’t compare it to anyone else’s. Even when he told me I had five minutes to leave he looked sad. He was smiling while talking to me but it wasn’t his usual smile. I have taken his number and will always stay in touch with him. You did not like a lot of people in the house but you never showed your displeasure in front of them? Why? Sometimes I used to feel bad but at times you do not want to say things and hurt others. But I do remember an incident where I told Khali I was hurt by his statements. He was respected by all the housemates from day one as we would serve him food and even clean his plates. So, while I was angry I made it a point that if every member of the house does not work I wouldn’t work too and so Khali worked that day. He had abused me and that hurt but as he asked for forgiveness I had to let go off the things but I feel things did not go well with him. Later while I was the principal in a literacy related task I had punished him. I think he kept all this in his mind while he nominated me. He nominated Sameer as the latter had told the truth to Salman bhai that Khali works the least in the house. Who do you think has strong chances of winning and who doesn’t? It’s a game and it’s the audience which decides who wins and who loses. But I feel a woman will win it this time and I want her to be Shweta Tiwari. What do you plan to do now? A month before I got into the Bigg Boss house a director had approached me as he wanted to make a story on my life. So, I will go and talk to him first and see if things work out. Apart from that, I have my political career. I am part of Mulayam Singh’s party. Post the movie, I would like to consider a few more film offers.