"Bigg Boss" contestant Vikas Gupta's equation with fellow contestant Shilpa Shinde may have improved over time but the producer says they are not friends.
Shilpa, who became a household name as Angoori Bhabhi of "Bhabi Ji Ghar Par Hai", had alleged that Vikas was behind her ouster from the popular TV show.
Vikas said he had not met the actor after her controversial exit from "Bhabiji..." and was surprised to see her on the reality show.
"For the first five weeks or so we did not get along well and later realised that this was not going anywhere, so as mature people we kept that thing away. We could have continued with it (drama of fighting) for 13 weeks as she is a good actor and I am a good writer.
"But we thought of taking a break from all this and behave like normal colleagues. We are not friends. There are times when we still don't get along well, but we try to handle it in a mature manner," Vikas said in a media interaction here.
Another housemate who does not gel well with Shilpa is Hina Khan and she said the three of them equally deserve to win.
"Maybe when we reach the finale, we end up taking to each other. There is no malice between us. I don't have anything against Shilpa. If she wins the show, I don't have any problem... They (Shilpa and Vikas) both are deserving and so am I," she said.
As the countdown to the finale of the season 11 of "Bigg Boss" has begun, Hina and Vikas have been critical of Shilpa for not participating in the tasks.
"This ('Bigg Boss') is a game show, you have to participate in the tasks. Cooking is important. She (Shilpa) is commendable. I am respectful of the fact that she cooks and we all get food to eat," he said.
Hina said they have often requested Shilpa to stay away from kitchen duty and participate in tasks but she does not seem to care.
Shilpa teared up in the middle of the press conference and said she enjoyed being in the kitchen.
"I do not regret being in the kitchen. I do whatever I can in the tasks. I don't yell or jump and pull or (will) do anything to win.
"I had no intention to become a mother to anyone here. I wanted to be Shilpa Shinde on the show. It's a reality show and this is me in real life too," she added.
The show, which airs on Colors, ends on January 14.
The other two contestants in top five are Puneesh Sharma and Akash Dadlani.
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