'You don't go on Khatron Ke Khiladi to overcome your fears, you go there to experience your fears and what those fears do to you.'
Nikki Tamboli is the first contestant to be eliminated from Khatron Ke Khiladi 11.
The gorgeous actress could not perform the first stunt even though she got a push from show host Rohit Shetty.
She tells Rediff.com Contributor Prateek Sur, "I felt really bad that he was trying to motivate me so much and yet, I was not able to perform and give my best."
Did you expect to be eliminated so soon?
Honestly, no. But when the first stunt came through and I couldn't perform, I knew it was going to be me.
I have never been scared of anything.
But when you do a stunt, your gut feeling tells you where you stand.
Even in Bigg Boss, I did stunts and at that time, there was a fire inside me. I couldn't feel that in Khatron Ke Khiladi.
There were other factors as well. I was having breakdowns as there were a lot of emotional turmoil.
The loss (Nikki lost her brother Jatin to COVID in May) compounded that sense of fear and I couldn't focus.
So I knew I would be the first person to be eliminated.
How did your family members take this elimination?
They were not happy with my performance. They gave me a sarcastic look while watching me perform.
Of all the contestants, I was the one who was scared the most and I have no qualms admitting that.
In Khatron Ke Khiladi, people come to overcome their fears. Are you disappointed that you could not overcome your fears?
This is just a popular notion.
Stunts or tasks cannot remove this fear of phobia from a person in a matter of a few moments. It takes years for a person to leave the phobia behind them.
You don't go on Khatron Ke Khiladi to overcome your fears, you go there to experience your fears and what those fears do to you.
What was your biggest fear when you had signed on for the show?
I'm practically scared of everything (laughs).
Yet, I went there to figure out what I am scared of the most.
There's a difference between fear and phobia and Khatron Ke Khiladi made me realise what I'm phobic of.
Rohit Shetty tried to motivate you. What was going through your mind then?
I felt really bad that he was trying to motivate me so much and yet, I was not able to perform and give my best.
How is Rohit Shetty as a mentor?
He is simply amazing.
He roots for you so much and enhances your performance that you yourself believe that you were capable of doing something like that.
He doesn't let you give up.
I didn't really like that despite Rohit sir pushing me forward so much, I was eliminated.
I was very disappointed with myself.
Who did you become friends with?
Arjun Bijlani, Varun Sood, Vishal Aditya Singh and Abhinav Shukla.
Did you feel bad that your friends like Varun Sood or Vishal Aditya Singh raised up their hands during the elimination?
(Laughs) We actually became friends after that.
Varun still says sorry for raising his hand during the elimination round and I tell him it's perfectly fine.
It's a part of the game.
Arjun, Astha and Abhinav became my friends on the very first day.
Who do you think is the strongest competitor?
Vishal, Abhinav, Arjun, and Divyanka are really strong contestants.
There are rumours that you will return on the show as a wild card.
(Laughs) That is something that time only will tell. Let's keep people guessing.
If given a chance, will you go back inside Bigg Boss in the next season?
Yes definitely, why not?
What after KKK can we see you in?
I'm doing music videos these days.
Apart from that, I have a few offers from South Indian films on my plate and OTT content too.
