To receive the Bigg Boss title from Chiranjeevi was special: Abijeet

The last 16 months have been a rollercoaster ride for Abijeet Duddala. In August 2019, the actor had met with an accident and was bed ridden for four months. Just as he was recovering, the

Covid-19 pandemic

hit and a nationwide lockdown was imposed and Abijeet was back indoors. And yet, from one of the lowest points in his life, he has managed to experience his biggest high when he was crowned the

winner

of

Bigg Boss Telugu

4 on Sunday.

Speaking to Hyderabad Times after winning the title, Abijeet says, “I feel a bit dazed right now. It’s yet to sink in that I have won the title. I feel like I have crawled out of a dark room and can finally feel the light again. The love fans have showered on me is overwhelming and I feel extremely grateful.”

What made the moment even more special for Abijeet was being presented with the trophy by

Megastar Chiranjeevi

himself. “You are already awestruck because you have the Megastar in front of you. But that was not all. Chiru sir had done research about me, he knew who I was and what films I had acted in. He even delivered punch dialogues in front of me. To see that was surreal. It is certainly the best moment of my professional career,” beams Abijeet.

Abijeet, who made his Tollywood debut with Sekhar Kammula’s Life is Beautiful in 2012, says that when he signed up for Bigg Boss, he never expected to get this far. “I didn’t really have a strategy while going into the house. I just wanted to be myself and I’m glad people liked me and appreciated me for it. I’m not the kind of person who will play tactical mind games, etc. I just wanted to play my own game and leave the rest up to the audience. And I’m glad that paid off,” he says.

Abijeet’s stay of over 100 days in the Bigg Boss house was not without its share of

controversies

. The actor had several ugly run-ins with Akhil Sarthak. While the two of them started off as friends, their relationship soured towards the end. Abijeet, however, says he doesn’t want to give much thought to the controversy anymore. “When I was in the house, I spoke my mind and the equations I had with people were real. But now, I don’t want to give any attention to such things. I feel they don’t need that much attention. The only thing that matters is what people think and they have accepted me. The audience is the biggest judge and they have voted me as the winner,” he says.

Interestingly, Abijeet also seemed to have a romantic relationship with fellow contestant

Monal

Gajjar. In fact, he and Akhil were seen fighting over Monal during several occasions while in the Bigg Boss house. Speaking about his relationship with Monal, Abijeet says, “Monal and I were good friends. There was definitely something (between the two of us) that was going in a certain direction but things did not quite work out. In the end, I decided to just focus on my game and that helped me,” he says.

This edition of Bigg Boss was unlike any other as it happened in the middle of a pandemic and Abijeet admits it took a toll on him. “I spent the second half of 2019 in bed because of my accident. Just as I was beginning to recover and go out again, the lockdown was imposed. Then when I thought of unlocking, Bigg Boss came my way and I decided to take up the challenge. So I’ve basically been holed up indoors the whole year and it has been mentally taxing. The key is to be patient, positive and have mental strength,” he says.

Having spent 16 months cooped up indoors, Abijeet wants to be out as much as possible in 2021. “I want to keep working till I drop. I don’t want to stay indoors at all. Hopefully my win in Bigg Boss will open new doors for me. Films will be my priority but I look forward to working in some interesting projects in the OTT space as well,” he says, signing off.