Tanya Mittal says, ‘People want TRPs by humiliating me after Bigg Boss 19’

AFter her scant on Bigg hirer 19, enterpriser and realness TV personality Tanya Mittal became a household nominate. The popularity, however, came at a cost and her experience on actor Salman Khan’s show made her apprehensive of returning to the reality space. “I felt people only wanted TRPs from me, whether by humiliating me or provoking me,” she says. But it was her mother Suneeta Mittal, who pushed her to try again and say yes to the another reality show Maa Hai Na. “I had become completely rigid about not doing another reality show. She told me, ‘If you keep running away from things, you’ll never move forward. Face your fears, and this time I’ll stand beside you’.” Mittal adds that while filming Maa Hai Na, there came a point when she wanted to quit after witnessing her mother being exposed to the same hostility she had faced. “I was mentally done with the show. I didn’t want to continue. But my mother refused to let me give up and kept reminding me that running away would never stop people from talking,” she explains.Having frequently found herself at the receiving end of online criticism, Mittal admits that she has learnt to approach the situation differently, which is by not responding to trolls as it only gives them more attention. “Silence is the most powerful tool you can have. People think my silence is weakness, but it isn’t,” she says, adding, “No one gets questioned more than I do, yet it doesn’t affect me because I know what I’m doing with my life. If anyone calls me jobless or accuses me of showing off, I don’t feel the need to respond. My purpose in life is much bigger than that.” She believes much of the scrutiny stems from society being uncomfortable with successful women. “I’ve realised I’m too much for people to digest. People aren’t used to seeing women live like this—with businesses, bodyguards and success. They’ve seen men do it, but not women,” she says. Pointing to the double standards, Mittal adds, “When a man owns a Mercedes or has bodyguards, nobody questions it. When a woman does, people immediately ask whether it belongs to her father or someone else.”Despite the criticism, Mittal insists she has no intention of chasing visibility for the sake of it. “I’m not someone who’s dying for TRPs or work. I turned down several offers after Bigg Boss because I only want to do projects that add value to my image,” she says. The entrepreneur, who had previously gone viral for saying she wanted to earn enough to give her future husband a monthly allowance running into lakhs, says she continues to stand by that statement. Asked how her family reacted to the viral comment, she laughs, “The family group exploded with everyone asking about the guy. They all want someone well-settled for me, but it hasn’t been easy.”However, she admits that finding the right partner has been harder than she imagined. “Sometimes being very strong breaks you into pieces,” she says. “I really want someone with whom I can share my life, but I haven’t found anyone strong enough yet. I want to earn so much that I can give my husband ₹15-20 lakh, even ₹1 crore if I can. I want to gift him cars, a house and everything he dreams of. I’m just waiting for the right person.”