Get to know ‘Bigg Boss 14’ winner and TV actress Rubina Dilaik

Indian television actress Rubina Dilaik has become a household name after she was crowned the winner of the Salman Khan-hosted reality show ‘Bigg Boss’ on February 21. In the season 14 finale, Dilaik proved she is made of stern stuff as she survived 140 days of surveillance and melodrama at the ‘Bigg Boss’ house. The actress, with more than 3.5 million Instagram followers, lived to tell her triumphant tale.

The ‘Chotti Bahu’ star is also Rs3.6 million (Dh180,000) richer thanks to the ‘Bigg Boss’ cash prize. But who’s Dilaik? Here’s the lowdown about the winner...

Dilaik is known for playing strong women roles in Indian TV serials. Her turn as the dutiful daughter Radhika Shastri in ‘Chotti Bahu’ and Souyma Singh, a transgender woman in ‘Shakti–Astitva Ke Ehsaas Ki’ on Colours Television, made her a popular name in Indian television circles.

Dilaik, 33, was born in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. According to reports, she was aspired to join the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) as a government servant, but her plans went awry when she got selected to play a pivotal role in the hit Zee TV series ‘Chotti Bahu’ in 2008.

Dilaik was also a model and was crowned Miss Shimla in 2006 before entering the Indian television industry.

Dilaik, whose father is a writer in Hindi films, found fame with ‘Chotti Bahu’ after she moved to Mumbai in mid-2000 to pursue her acting career. After the success of her debut serial in 2008, she played a fairy in ‘Jeannie Aur Juju’ and was hailed for her comic timing.

Before entering the widely popular reality show ‘Bigg Boss’, she had also played Sita in the Hindu mythological series ‘Devon Ke Dev Mahadev’ and had famously worked on her Hindi diction to do justice to her role. “Sita’s character came to me all of a sudden. I believe, whatever happens, happens for the best. I have been approached twice before for ‘Devon Ke Dev Mahadev’. But they were for some other characters. This was the third time. I didn’t want to say no, because being an Indian we are all attached to Ramayan and Mahabharat, and it is an honour for me to play Sita on screen. It is a big challenge because other actors have also played Sita. I wanted to take it to a different level so people can remember my performance too,” said Dilaik in an interview with India Times.

Dilaik married her co-star and colleague Abhinav Shukla in June 2018 in a dreamy wedding in her native Himachal Pradesh. While the two fell in love at work, the couple has been open about how being married to each other wasn’t always easy. Dilaik also spoke openly about her marital woes and even hinted about a divorce. But her stint at the ‘Bigg Boss’ house seems to have brought the couple closer.

In an interview with ET Times TV after she was crowned the ‘Bigg Boss’ winner, Dilaik revealed that the two are now going strong. “Our relationship has become stronger. When you keep your most intimate relationship in the public eye and that too in a most vulnerable state, then your protective instinct comes out. Then to protect that relationship you find ways and means to make it stronger. ‘Bigg Boss’ allowed us to do that and with the utmost confidence we say that we have found new strength within each other,” she said.

Dilaik was hailed for her display of grace and dignity while being in the ‘Bigg Boss’ house. After her win, she claims that she holds no grudges against her ‘Bigg Boss’ inmates Rakhi Sawant or Rahul Vaidya, who had picked numerous fights with her.