14 Bigg Boss contestants who came close to winning… but didn’t!

Bigg Boss (BB), which aired its inaugural season back in 2006, has today become one of the most popular reality shows on the small screen. Each year has witnessed growing viewership and an impressive fan base. With over-the-top drama and fights that make headlines, the show has witnessed several celebrities living in the Bigg Boss house over the past 15 years. While many contestants win hearts every season with their performance, there is only one winner at the end. Here’s taking a look at the runners-up of every season, who almost bagged the trophy. Well, almost.

The inaugural season of BB witnessed Rahul Roy walking away with the trophy with Carol as the runner-up of the show. A popular model who tried her luck in the reality show, Carol gave tough competition to Rahul, but couldn’t win enough votes in the end.

Season two saw Ashutosh Kaushik winning hearts thanks to his resolute determination to win the show. Shweta Tiwary’s former husband, Raja was the runner-up and although he was a popular contestant, viewers didn’t find him appealing enough to win the show.

Vindu Dara Singh may have been the winner of season 3, but it was Pravesh who had many viewers rooting for him. The actor played the game well right till the end, but failed to garner votes when it mattered most.

Who would have ever imagined that Shweta Tiwari, who eventually won the season, would have The Great Khali standing next to her on stage before the winner was announced? While Dalip has won several matches in the wrestling ring, he failed to win the reality show.

Mahek is currently trying her luck in another reality show, Khatron Ke Khiladi 11, but before that she had come close to clinching the BB trophy back in season five. Juhi Parmar was the winner that season and although Mahek was close to winning, she couldn’t beat Juhi’s popularity.

At the finale, Imam Siddique and Urvashi Dholakia were the last ones standing, but it was the latter that walked away with the trophy. Despite not winning the show, Imam managed to get the title of Mr Manoranjan. His notorious fights in the house, as entertaining as they were, failed to make him the eventual winner. After being the runner-up, he said in an interview, “I am pragmatic and believe that if audiences wanted me to win, I would have won.”

This was a nail-biting finish and how! Season seven witnessed a close call between Tanishaa and Gauahar Khan, who eventually won the show. Despite her close proximity to co-contestant Armaan Kohli, Tanishaa failed to garner enough votes to win although her journey on the show received praise from viewers.

Who doesn’t remember season 8 winner Gautam Gulati? He emerged as a true survivor and won the show. But it was Karishma Tanna, who was touted to win thanks to her impressive performance. However, even she wouldn’t beat Gautam’s phenomenal popularity, who won hearts on the show.

Rishabh showed consistent perseverance to reach the finale. While his hard work did make him a finalist, it was Prince Narula who won the trophy. Despite Rishabh’s myriad fans rooting for him, he failed to beat Prince’s popularity in the end.

Bani Judge was the first runner-up in season 10 after Manveer Gurjar emerged as the winner. Both contestants were appreciated for showing their real sides on the show, which is known to bring out people’s real personalities and how they tackle various situations. Bani took her defeat with a pinch of salt and moved on.

As one of the most popular contestants in the house, most people assumed that Hina Khan would win the show. But it was Shilpa Shinde who eventually won thanks to her strategies. What Hina did manage to do was to break her bahu image thanks to the fashionable outfits that she wore on the show.

No one thought that a cricketer and budding actor would reach the finale of the controversial reality show, but that is exactly what happened with S. Sreesanth. While Deepika Kakkar won the show, Sreesanth came very close, too. Their brother-sister bond was one of the highlights of the season.

Who doesn’t remember one of the long running seasons of the show? Sidharth Shukla was the unanimous winner, but that didn’t mean that Asim didn’t give him a tough fight right till the end. The former friends-turned-foes made headlines with their initial camaraderie and subsequent fallout and kept fans hooked to the show. Asim made a remarkable effort and was eventually the runner-up.

Season 14 was extra high on drama and emotions. While Rubina Dilaik was known for her strong stances on various issues, Rahul was known for his friendships and music. Rubina may have won the season, but Rahul was also appreciated for his frank talk on the show. In an interview with us, he said, “I always believe in winning with dignity and losing with grace.”