Rhiya Ahir, who found viral fame after stopping a police van in Mumbai during the Cockroach Janta Party-led protests over NEET exam leak, has addressed criticism over her potential entry into Bigg Boss 20. The makers of Bigg Boss 20 have started the campaign, ‘Fans Ka Faisla’ (Fans’ decision) where they get to vote among the two contestants suggested on their app. The fans have to vote between Rhiya Ahir and Love Gill, and the one who receives the most votes, enters the Salman Khan-show. However, Rhiya faced immense backlash by the audience suggesting that her participation in the protest was merely for fame, and her end goal was to participate in Bigg Boss. 

Rhiya Ahir defends herself

Ahir, 27, has responded to those criticisms by sharing one of the comments under her post that read: “She is not an activist. That is not her profession or her job. She participated in one protest, it went viral, and suddenly people started expecting activism from her as if that’s her career (sic).” Affirming this, she joked, by stating that she also needs to earn a living, “Paapi Pet Ko Bhi Paalna Hai (I have to earn a living too).”

Take a look at her Instagram video below:

 

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A post shared by ʀʜɪʏᴀ ʏᴀᴅᴀᴠ (@rhiyaahir)

Who is Rhiya Ahir?

The actor-model-entrepreneur further stated that if she defended herself, the audience would accuse her of playing the “victim card”. Rhiya Ahir also stated that she didn’t earn a single penny from the video that made her viral from the protest. She stressed on the fact that before the protest, she was already a theatre actor, and has been actively involved in it for the past 13 years, since the age of four-and-a-half.

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Rhiya added that she felt it was right to block the police van during the protest, and if that drew attention to her, and has opened new avenues, there isn’t anything wrong in exploring them. “Being true to myself is what I did in the front of the van,” said Rhiya.

Apart from being a theatre actor, Rhiya is also an entrepreneur, who runs a handcrafted apparel label, models, and has appeared in several music videos too.

On August 5, Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition of Lok Sabha, shared a series of young voices on Instagram, and Rhiya Ahir was one of them.

 

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A post shared by Rahul Gandhi (@rahulgandhi)

About Bigg Boss 20

This reality show, hosted by Salman Khan, goes on air from September 6, on Colors TV. The Salman Khan led reality show, Bigg Boss 20, touted to be one of the biggest captive realities on television, is all set to return. Promos featuring the superstar host have been released by the makers, which also revealed the theme of the show, which is ‘Tathaas-Two,’ and additionally, it has also given the fans the liberty to choose their favourite personalities, whom they want to see inside the reality show.