Reshma Pasupuleti, the last housemate to be evicted from Bigg Boss Tamil 3, is fondly called ‘Neutral Reshma’ by other contestants. An eviction that took the members by surprise, Reshma was also revealed to have lost by a slender margin. Here, she talks about her journey and how she feels she was thought of as an ‘easy target’ within the house.
They keep calling you ‘Neutral Reshma’ on the show. Were you truly able to be neutral, given you had good equations with people on both sides of an argument, like Kavin and Sakshi?
It never bothered me; it was their issue. I spoke about it when Sakshi came to me for advice, and even then, I didn’t badmouth Kavin. I used to listen to Kavin’s side and advise Sakshi and vice-versa. I am a good listener. Maybe they thought since I was friends with all housemates, ingerunthu anga poi solren nu ninachikitanga pola. I am a fair person. Initially, I wasn’t interested in getting into it, but I took a stand later as I got to know more. But I like the name, ‘Neutral Reshma’.
Also, it isn’t possible to take sides all the time; you get isolated if you do that. People thought I was playing a ‘safe game’ to avoid nomination. But remember that 24 hours is getting condensed into a single hour. I did support Sakshi, but after a point, I stopped because she seemed too consumed by this. Girl, grow up! I don’t know if she is acting or genuinely feeling hurt.
While on being hurt, you had an argument with Cheran when he yelled at you during a task. However, later, you accused Kavin of influencing you.
Cheran sir and I are still good friends. That was the first day of the task and there was a lot of shouting going around. Our voices overlapped and we were all annoyed about all the noise. Earlier, during a task, Cheran sir had said a dialogue to me because he thought I wouldn’t take offence. That didn’t seem fair to me. I already had the feeling he was looking at me as an ‘idithangi’. And then, he just lashed out. It was my birthday as well, and I got irritated. I don’t like anyone shouting at women unnecessarily, regardless of whether it is a task. Even during open nominations, that was the reason I nominated both Kavin and Cheran sir.
You call Mugen your son. Is it possible to create such a deep bond within such a short span?
It is, actually. We have no contact with the outer world and we spend our days talking. Thus, a bond gets developed. Mugen’s mother has a similar life to mine; so I could connect with him easily. Paasathaku engara paiyan. But there are several housemates who I have no connection with, like Losliya. She doesn’t talk much to anyone, maybe only Kavin (laughs), and now Abhirami recently. But yes, the bond is easy to forge as you discuss your personal lives.
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You seemed to take offence when Mugen nominated you.
My problem was that he nominated me without knowing the issue he was talking about. If he had asked me about it first, I would have accepted the nomination. Even Tharshan said similar things, but I was hurt because Mugen is closer to me. Even then, I didn’t initiate the conversation; Abhirami told him. I was just passing on a message and not talking behind anyone. He felt guilty after I explained the situation. I was an easy target in the house; my name didn’t come once during closed nominations. While Cheran sir and Saravanan’s name didn’t crop up during the open nomination, it is
now back.
When you were captain, you were entrusted with choosing the ‘worst performance’ of the week. However, people didn’t seem to know about the roles everyone played in the task.
Everyone discussed their roles openly. I was the only one not to say anything. I figured that they all knew about it and also genuinely forgot to bring it up again. It was a heated conversation and I wanted to end it. Also, I don’t think it was a fair reason to nominate me. After all the issues that happened, Kavin’s reason felt lame. Come on, won’t Kavin know the role Losliya played? He was just looking for a reason.
Saravanan’s comments on the show about groping has sparked a lot of criticism. However, there was no conversation about it in the house. Why?
When we are sitting on that sofa, we are all quite tensed and zoned out. We respond only when Kamal sir directly talks to us. I didn’t hear it fully. I only heard ‘naanum pannirukken’, but I didn’t know what he was talking about. I only got to know about it after I came out.
But he is a genuine person. Avaru pechu dhaan konjam mass a irukum. He called me ‘gundu annaparavai’ as a joke. It’s wrong to body shame, especially women. I asked him and he said he didn’t mean to offend me. I could have created a huge ruckus, but I didn’t. Avaru pechche appadithaan nu vittuten.