Kushal Tandon’s entry into Alliance came with an obvious question: how would he navigate a reality show alongside Zaid Darbar, the husband of his former partner Gauahar Khan?
But according to Tandon, whatever awkwardness viewers may have anticipated quickly gave way to a friendship, with the actor insisting that the past was exactly that — the past.
Tandon also points out that his past with Gauahar dates back 15 years, and that everyone involved has grown and moved on. “That’s 15 years back. Interestingly, Tandon says he had initially sworn off reality television after appearing on Boss around 15 years ago.
Because of Ekta Kapoor, “I just did this show. During the show, Kushal made headlines for his equation with Zaid Darbar’s wife, Gauahar Khan. “I didn’t see him as somebody’s husband. We all grew up and we are all mature people. And we meet outside also. Their equation, however, did become a talking point inside the show, particularly after a playful exchange between the two was interpreted differently outside. Their friendship also came with plenty of banter. Tandon recalls how Zaid would regularly ask for things that belonged to him, from his cigarette and coffee to his protein shake. “When we smoke, he wants my cigarette. When I make coffee, he wants my coffee. When I make protein shake, he wants my protein shake. He just went and did that. And then the whole house was against me. Kushal maintains that he continued to stand by the people he had promised to support. And the whole group gathered to make me fall. So what made him change his mind for Alliance? He credits producer and mentor Ekta Kapoor. She also had two web shows lined up with him for a major platform, but first wanted him to take on the reality show experience.
Not only that, Kushal’s derogatory remark about Gauahar — “Tujhe saari meri cheezein pasand aati hai” — also made headlines, with Zaid telling us that Kushal did apologise to him and his family for the comment, although the apology was not aired. Speaking about his equation with Zaid, Tandon says he never entered the show viewing him through his relationship with Gauahar. I saw him as a contestant,” he says, adding that the two eventually “gelled up like boarding school guys” and became good friends. There’s no bad blood,” he says. I told him that you like only my stuff. And it was not to any other context,” he says, clarifying that the exchange was simply part of their equation. The situation took an ugly turn when Vanshaj Singh returned to the show and told Zaid Darbar about the reaction outside the house to Kushal’s remark about him liking his “things”. Reflecting on how the situation played out after Vanshaj returned to the show and attempted to break alliances, Kushal says, “His game plan was that he will tell everyone bad about me. Vanshaj, Tandon says, acknowledged that he had lied about Kushal not apologising to Zaid over the comment, as he wanted Zaid to break his alliance with Kushal and join his group. “So I did what I said. But no one was able to make me fall,” he says. Kapoor, with whom he has worked on his last four shows, called him to her house and asked him to give her a year, according to him. Otherwise I would have not done this show,” he says.
