India — Former Bigg Boss 14 contestant Eijaz Khan has responded to rumours that he left the reality show prematurely to meet Pavitra Punia, and not because of prior professional commitments, as had previously been reported.
Eijaz said in an interview that he was forced to abruptly leave Bigg Boss because he was required to complete work on the web series City of Dreams, which had been halted because of the coronavirus lockdown. Eijaz said that he worked 18-hour days to complete work on the show, but could not return to Bigg Boss because the mandatory quarantine would leave him with just one week, ‘which didn’t make sense’.
He told Bollywood Hungama, “I was conveyed this information, and I had to make a very difficult choice. I’ll tell you why it was portrayed otherwise. After I came out, the only stories that were carried about me in the press were ones with Pavitra. I didn’t post anything from the sets on social media, nor through my PR. So everything that was written about me was related to Pavitra. People started believing I was only chilling with Pavitra after exiting the show.”
Pavitra called the rumours ‘lies’, and said that it was a ‘blessing in disguise’ that she was also outside when Eijaz was forced to leave the show. “It’s understandable that after spending so many hours working, he’d want to spend his free time with me, someone he loves,” she said.
Eijaz said that because he was shooting with a 200-person crew, he couldn’t stay with his father, which is why he ended up staying with Pavitra. He said that even his closest friends believed that he was just enjoying himself on the outside. Eijaz said that work is more important than love, particularly at this time, when ‘there is a dearth of good work’ and shootings have been ‘stalled’.