New Captain, New Power Play
On Day 61, the house finally settled its captaincy for the week as the contestants of Bigg Boss 19 engaged in a nomination-and-voting ritual to designate the new captain. According to reports, the contenders were Mridul Tiwari and Pranit More, with Mridul emerging as the new house captain following house-mate voting.
As captain, Mridul assumed heavier responsibilities, including supervising weekly duties, assigning chores and mediating disputes. This shift instantly altered the power dynamics in the house, prompting contestants to revisit their positions in alliances.
Captaincy Task & House Duties
With Mridul at the helm, the house-mates were asked to participate in a formal assembly where Mridul distributed roles and laid down the rules for the week. While the exact nature of the captaincy task was routine, what caught attention was how Mridul’s decisions triggered friction. One such flashpoint: Mridul endorsed a suggestion by Abhishek Bajaj that placed Gaurav Khanna in charge of kitchen duties. Gaurav took offence, arguing that he was being sidelined intentionally. According to headlines, this disagreement sparked a heated exchange.
In effect, the captaincy decision pushed several house-mates into rethinking alliances and led to very visible signs of unease in the house.
Food, Kitchen and Cooking Drama
Mealtime and kitchen responsibilities once again became a major site of conflict. The cooking chores, allocation of duties and who gets to skip or delegate kitchen work provoked strong reactions. For example, Neelam mentioned her frustration around duty-allocation and challenged the idea that “the one who cooks is safer in the house”.
Elsewhere, kitchen disputes spilled into emotional territory. As cooking and food-service became a strategic tool in the game, house-mates began to call out each other’s behaviour, hinting that control over kitchen duties equals subtle power. This undercurrent dovetailed with the broader captaincy shift, amplifying tensions throughout Day 61.
Emotional Breakdowns and Fractured Friendships
Perhaps the most poignant moments came when friendships started visibly cracking. The bond between Neelam Giri and Tanya Mittal came under intense strain. Reportedly, Tanya’s increased closeness to Farrhana Bhatt upset Neelam deeply — especially given Farrhana’s earlier actions that had hurt Neelam. Neelam confronted Tanya over what she perceived as a “double standard”, and the confrontation ended with Neelam in tears and the friendship effectively declared over.
Another emotional angle: the relationship between Nehal and Farrhana, once considered strong, showed signs of slippage. Nehal accused Farrhana and others of poisoning the dynamic, while Farrhana claimed she was unaware. The result: a tearful Nehal and a visibly changed Farrhana.
These personal cracks underscored how strategy, emotion and interpersonal bonds are intertwined in the Bigg Boss house.
Fight, Prank and Physical Tussles
Day 61 also featured lighter-to-intense moments of mischief and confrontation. A prank involving Ashnoor Kaur and Mridul began with playful pool-side pushing but escalated when Ashnoor’s bed got drenched with water by Mridul (allegedly encouraged by Tanya). The prank led to an argument, with Ashnoor opting to sleep on the couch rather than her soaked bed.
Meanwhile, the kitchen and kitchen-duty skirmishes turned sharp, as house-mates accused each other of shirking work, manipulating tasks, or using chores as status in the house. These conflicts, while rooted in day-to-day duties, reflect the deeper strategic and emotional undercurrents of the game.
Strategy Shifts: Alliances, Isolation and Game Plans
With the new captaincy and the shifting bonds, several contestants appeared to recalibrate their game strategy.
- Tanya found herself increasingly isolated, as the house united to challenge her credibility and trustworthiness.
- Farrhana appeared to pivot away from previous alliances and quietly aligned with Malti, signalling a subtle change in her social game.
- Mridul, now captain, leveraged his post to underline authority, but the backlash suggests his leadership may face tests ahead.
- Some contestants, such as Abhishek, appeared to embrace the observer role — comfortable but strategic, reinforcing relationships rather than instigating overt conflict.
Food and kitchen duty, once again, became both literal chores and metaphorical power centres — controlling the kitchen means fewer vulnerabilities.
Why Day 61 Mattered
Day 61 served as a pivot point for Bigg Boss 19. A new captain meant the house’s power structure was reset; older alliances were tested and new fractures formed; everyday chores such as food and kitchen became battlegrounds for strategy rather than just housekeeping. Emotional revelations, betrayals and realignment of trust signalled a deeper shift: contestants now clearly recognise that the game is less about survival and more about influence and management within the house.
