Popular comic Manju Pavagada was declared the winner of season 8 of Bigg Boss Kannada during Sunday’s grand finale. Host Sudeep gave him the winner’s trophy and a cash prize of Rs 53 lakh.

Manju Pavagada used to work at a petrol station in his hometown, and came to Bengaluru with the dream of becoming an actor. After a long struggle, his break came with the opportunity to take part in the talent show, Majaa Bharatha. The talent show for comics made Manju popular and he went on to become a part of the reality TV show, Bigg Boss Kannada. He emerged as the dark horse of the season by beating all predictions and sailing through various challenges on the show.Also Read |Vikrant Rona: Jacqueline Fernandez stuns as Gadang Rakkamma

Manju’s performance, especially during the second innings of the season, received a lot of attention and appreciation.

KP Aravind, meanwhile, emerged as the first runner-up and took home Rs 11 lakh prize money. As a token of his appreciation, Sudeep also removed the jacket he was wearing during the event and gifted it to Aravind.

Aravind is an Indian off-road motorcycle racer. He has participated and made a mark in international racing competitions. He has done several television commercials as a stunt double for big celebrities. He also had a cameo in Dulquer Salmaan’s Bangalore Days.

The eighth season of Bigg Boss Kannada was launched in February amid a lot of fanfare and celebration. However, the second wave of the coronavirus interrupted the proceedings of the show. The lockdown restrictions imposed by the Karnataka government to contain the growing cases of infections banned all kinds of entertainment television and movie productions. And the showrunners were forced to stop the show after 72 days into the season.

Before the show went off air, even Sudeep fell ill and was missing from weekend episodes.

The season, however, resumed during the last week of June and completed the remaining 30-odd days of the total journey. All 12 contestants — Aravind KP, Divya Uruduga, Raghu Gowda, Vaishnavi, Manju Pavagada, Divya Suresh, Prashanth Sambargi, Chakravarthy Chandrachud, Nidhi Subbaiah, Subha Poonja, Shamanth, and Priyanka Thimmesh were brought back on the show.

Sudeep, who has been the face of Bigg Boss Kannada since its inception in 2013, promised to return to the next season too.