Who is Avinash Mishra? The Bigg Boss 18 star who won Khatron Ke Khiladi 15 and Rs20 lakh

Dubai: Television actor Avinash Mishra has been crowned the winner of Khatron Ke Khiladi 15, the stunt-based reality show hosted by filmmaker Rohit Shetty.

He beat fellow finalists Rithvik Dhanjani and social media personality Orhan Awatramani, better known as Orry, in the grand finale, which aired on Colors TV and JioHotstar on October 4. The finale had been filmed in Mumbai on September 13.

Along with the trophy, Avinash took home Rs2 million (Rs20 lakh, about Dh82,000) in prize money, a trip to Europe and a Maruti Suzuki Swift. All three finalists also received motorbikes.

How he won

The season, filmed in Cape Town, South Africa, began with 12 contestants. Five reached the finale: Avinash, Rithvik, Orry, Farrhana Bhatt and Karan Wahi.

Karan was eliminated after losing a stunt to Rithvik, and Farrhana went out after losing the next one to Orry and Avinash. That left three finalists for the last challenge.

Avinash completed the final stunt in the quickest time to claim the title. According to reports, the finale stunts included a jump from a helicopter into water.

He finished the season without aborting a single task. He also won the Swift Immunity Jacket, which allowed him to either save another contestant from elimination or skip a stunt himself.

'The person I ended up proving it to was myself'

Avinash told SCREEN he had joined the show with something to prove.

"Winning Khatron Ke Khiladi feels special because I thought I signed up for the show with a point to prove, but along the way, the person I ended up proving it to, was myself," he said.

He said he wanted audiences to see more of him than they had on television.

"I have spent years being associated with television and, yes, with being the good-looking guy on screen. I enjoyed that journey, but I also knew there was so much more I wanted people to see in me. This show gave me the chance to put everything else aside and literally let my actions speak."

'It is just you, your fear and the decision you make'

The hardest part of the competition, he said, was mental rather than physical.

"Most of this journey was actually about the mind. You can prepare yourself physically, but when you are standing at the edge of something terrifying, there is no performance left. It is just you, your fear and the decision you make in that moment. I had to learn to tune out the noise, trust myself, and keep going," Avinash said.

"There were days when I surprised myself, and those are the moments I will cherish. I came to Khatron Ke Khiladi wanting to test myself; I am leaving with a belief in myself that I didn't have before. That, for me, is the biggest victory."

Who is Avinash Mishra?

Born on December 9, 1995, Avinash worked as a DJ before moving into acting. He has been part of the Hindi television industry for nearly a decade.

He made his acting debut in 2016 with the TV show Sethji, and went on to appear in Ishqbaaz in 2017. His role in Mariam Khan Reporting Live in 2018 brought him wider recognition. In 2020, he replaced Ritvik Arora in the lead role of Yeh Rishtey Hain Pyaar Ke, and in 2022 he starred in the drama Nath.

He became a household name as a contestant on Bigg Boss 18, hosted by Salman Khan, where he finished fourth in January 2025.

His win continues a pattern of Bigg Boss 18 contestants doing well on the stunt show. Karanveer Mehra, who won Bigg Boss 18, also won Khatron Ke Khiladi 14 in 2024.