Vikas Gupta: Sonali Phogat epitomised grace for me

Sonali Phogat and Vikas Gupta

BJP leader and actor Sonali Phogat died of suspected heart attack in Goa on Monday. In 2020, she had entered Bigg Boss as a wildcard contestant. Her co-contestant, producer, Vikas Gupta shares his memories of her. "Sonali epitomised grace for me. It was a shock for me when I heard that she had passed away so suddenly. A reporter called and gave me the news. People have been passing away too soon and I get affected by it. Sonali was someone who went out of her way to make sure she did well in life, was health conscious and raised her daughter Yashodhara so beautifully. That is very inspiring for me. Sonali was not the way she was portrayed in Bigg Boss, but full of grace, warmth and kindness. She felt that people needed to behave like that in Bigg Boss. In real life, she was very positive, full of confidence and a sorted person. Any woman who makes it big from a small town might have an attitude which people may not like. But not everyone with so much grace as Sonali can actually come so far, whether it is politics or coming on Bigg Boss 14."

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Gupta says his heart goes out to Phogat's daughter. "Yashodhara had come on show and told her, ‘Aap Bigg Boss ke ghar ke andar dekh lo, baahar hum log sambhal lenge.' For a young kid to say that, was mature. I feel very disheartened because people like Sonali are so much loved and needed. She was a young-hearted, vibrant person."

Post Bigg Boss they kept in touch too, says Gupta. "She was the one who would keep in touch always. Whenever she was in Mumbai, she would want to meet. Sonali was very kind to me because apparently, I was good to her on the show. She was supportive always because she remembered this incident where one group she had encountered was unkind to her and they had reprimanded her. I had consoled her and told her, ‘Look who you are. You are an amazing person and you are playing along with people who may not have the same outlook like you.' That's when she became herself again."

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