“I am looking forward to start my journey as an actor” – Arbaz Patel

In a very short span of time, Arbaz Patel has made a name for himself as a model, reality TV star, social media influencer and content creator. The next step, as Arbaz himself confirms, is becoming an actor. Arbaz recently participated in ‘Rise and Fall’, a reality show which can be streamed on Amazon MX Player. In the reality show, hosted by entrepreneur Ashneer Grover, Arbaz emerged as one of the finalists.

In this interview, Arbaz talks about his journey in ‘Rise and Fall’, the experience of participating in different reality shows, bond with girlfriend Nikki Tamboli, acting aspirations and more.

How would you describe the journey you had on ‘Rise and Fall’?

The journey was beautiful. In a way, I feel the show could not have existed without me (laughs). Every contestant had their eyes on me and constantly talking about what I was doing. A lot of them were constantly coming up with ideas on how I could be eliminated. It had become a mission for them to ensure that I do not become the ‘ultimate ruler’. Despite feeling isolated throughout this journey, I played the game to the best of my abilities. I feel happy about the fact that I will always be remembered as the ‘mastermind’ of the first season of ‘Rise and Fall’. During the Powerplay Weekends, I would get a lot of appreciation for the way I was playing the game. The audience also witnessed my growth throughout the show. Despite everybody against me, I managed to have a memorable journey on the show.

You had earlier participated in ‘MTV Splitsvilla X5’ and ‘Bigg Boss Marathi Season 5’. Was the experience of participating in ‘Rise and Fall’ any different from that of the other shows?

Yes, being a part of this show was a very different experience. A lot of people on social media have been saying how I participated in three reality shows and did not win any of them. Honestly, I feel happy about the fact that I put in a lot of effort and enjoyed the experience. The experience of working in each of these reality shows was unique. When I did ‘MTV Splitsvilla X5’, I was clueless about how reality shows worked. While being on that show, I found every contestant to be fake. I felt they were trying to portray themselves as something they were not.

Many big celebrities were a part of ‘Bigg Boss Marathi Season 5’. When celebrities participate in a reality show, they become very conscious about their image and do not open up. Because of this reason, I did not really enjoy the experience of being a part of these shows. In ‘Rise and Fall’, too, there were some big names who were conscious about the way they will be seen and how it will affect their image. I had no such apprehensions. The one thing I am proud of is that I was myself on the show. The audience got to see my real personality. This was the first season of ‘Rise and Fall’, so there was no reference point for us. It was quite a challenging show to be a part of. I think this has been one of the most difficult reality shows that have been made in India.

Every day, the ‘Rulers’ would face a new challenge. If any of your decisions turn out to be bad, things could go terribly wrong for you. A wrong decision could lead to your ‘fall’. When I went to the basement, I had to do things, take up the challenges and perform the ‘lift of judgment’. When I was up there, I faced a lot of difficulties. I was the one who survived till the end. Interestingly, I did not find the experience of being in the basement to be tough. At our home, too, we are used to eating simple food like dal-chawal. Getting used to the basement, therefore, did not take much time. While watching the show, the audience might have felt that the contestants are having a good time. They could not have been further from the truth. When you do this show, you realize its format is very different from any other show that has been made so far.

When you do a show which isolates you from the outside world for a long time, does that affect your mental health?

The isolation happens not just externally but internally as well. When I did ‘Bigg Boss Marathi Season 5’, I was made to feel isolated by the contestants. I faced similar circumstances while doing ‘Rise and Fall’. Such experiences, I feel, toughen your mind. Because of this, when you come out of such reality shows, even big problems in the outside world appear to be trivial.

Nikki Tamboli and you have been together for a while. When you were doing the show, she offered you a lot of support from the outside.

Yes, Nikki supported me throughout this journey. After coming out of ‘Bigg Boss Marathi Season 5’, we celebrated our first Diwali together. Incidentally, when I came out of ‘Rise and Fall’, Diwali was round the corner. We celebrated the festival together. Nikki constantly supported me from the outside. A lot of people don’t realize that reality shows are heavily edited. We spend 24 hours a day inside a place and the audience gets to see just an hour of footage. Not just me but a lot of other contestants suffered because of it. A lot of things which we said did not come out. Based on the limited footage people saw, they created an image of me in their head. Many said Arbaz takes decisions very aggressively. Some believed I was the villain of the show. Some thought I was a flirt. I was heavily misunderstood. Nikki defended me and replied to a lot of people who were attacking me.

You had several bittersweet moments on the show. Is there any special moment which is close to your heart?

There was a time when ‘Workers’ had told me that they will never perform for me. Even ‘Rulers’ had turned against me. I was left all alone. Then, Nikki came and consoled me. During this time, most people had started believing that my game was over. However, I pushed myself harder after that and managed to reach the finale.

What do you plan to do next?

It has been just a few years since I got into this industry. I have done three reality shows so far. I always wanted to start out with reality shows and I am glad I got the opportunity to be a part of three of them. When you start off with something like a daily soap, people identity with the name of your character. I always wanted to build an identity for myself. Now, I am looking forward to start my journey as an actor. Along with films, I am open to the idea of working in TV and the streaming place. I am keen on doing lead roles but it would also be exciting to play a villain. I just want to play characters that are layered and interesting.