Mini Mathur emerged as the winner of the reality show Alliance, navigating alliances, tasks and intense relationships during her time in the headquarters. In an exclusive interview with Times of India TV, Mini opened up about the friendships she formed on the show, Gauahar Khan’s criticism of her gameplay and the accusations of being biased while serving as an Ace.Talking about the contestants she continues to remain in touch with after the show, Mini said that she has maintained strong bonds with several of her fellow contestants.“With all the allies on it, so there is obviously nobody that I will not stay in touch with. But the ones that I know that really get me and I’m definitely, you know, on video calls many times a day with them, even now, Ruhee, Zaid, Daisy, Niti, Kushal, Arslan, even Aly and Bali. So these are people that I really enjoy, Payal, Vanshaj. God, I’ve named everybody,” she said.Mini was also asked about Gauahar Khan criticising her gameplay, particularly her decision to often side with Nikhil. Responding to the criticism, Mini explained that she believed Gauahar was speaking from a protective perspective as Zaid’s wife and was not fully aware of the equation Mini and Zaid shared inside the headquarters.“I think Gauahar was basically reacting as a very protective wife, and she wasn’t really aware of my relationship with Zaid within the house, within the headquarters. We kind of supported each other. I helped Zaid shift to another team where he could shine and show his leadership qualities as opposed to just playing under the shadows with the strong ones,” Mini said.She added that Gauahar understood the dynamic better after the contestants came out of the show and Zaid spoke to her.“And I think she realised it the moment we came out of the house and Zaid had a word with her, and she’s, you know, we’ve kind of talked about it and laughed about it,” she added.However, Mini admitted that Nikhil remained her “OG alliance” throughout the game and that she would prioritise him over others.“But yes, of course, Nikhil was my OG alliance and I would prioritise him over everybody else. But I also prioritised Zaid in the fact that I actually played the finale with Zaid, and that was my understanding with him all along, that Zaid, I appreciate your skills and I need to play the finale week with you, which we did,” she said.Mini was also questioned about her stint as an Ace, which received mixed reactions from viewers, with some accusing her of being biased during the task. Asked if she would change anything about her decisions if given a chance, Mini was firm that she would not.“I would not change a thing. I think if you saw the Aces that came after me, you would realise that I was by far the most fair Ace the game had seen,” she said.Explaining her decision to return points and diamonds to the Legends, Mini said she wanted to support the team that was struggling at the time.“The reason I gave Legends the points and the diamonds back that week was because they were at the bottom, and like I said in the show, I would have given the benefit to any team that was at the bottom and needed help,” she explained.Mini maintained that her decision was based on fairness rather than personal friendships, even though several of her friends happened to be part of Legends at the time.“Sometimes you need to help the people who are struggling and not the people who are your friends. It just so happened that all my friends were in Legends that week,” she said.Comparing her gameplay with the Aces who followed her, Mini added, “Look at the way the other Aces played after me. I think I played with my gut and my sense of fairness, and I think this is quite crazy, an allegation.”
