Social media star Elvish Yadav, who once mocked Bigg Boss OTT Hindi host Salman Khan in his videos, has won the second season of the popular reality show.
Yadav, 25, who has a huge following on YouTube, made history on Monday night by becoming the first winner who was a "wild card" contestant, meaning he joined the show in later episodes. He won 2.5 million rupees ($29,975) in prize money.
From Haryana, in northern India, Yadav was already a popular figure when he entered the Bigg Boss house, best known for his comedy skits on YouTube channel The Social Factory, where he as more than 13 million subscribers.
He often refers to his fans as Elvish Army.
"Thank you Elvish Army. It's your win, it always had been since the start," Yadav posted on Instagram following his win.
"Elvish Yadav is nothing without you all. I have said it a lot of times, I am saying it again. I don't deserve this much love, but you guys give me more and more. Can't thank you all enough for everything. This trophy belongs to #ElvishArmy."
Bigg Boss OTT is a spin-off of the successful and long-running Bigg Boss reality series in India. The show is the Indian version of the global Big Brother reality series, where contestants spend weeks in a custom-built house shut off from the world, where their every move is watched by a live audience. The "housemates" are then eliminated every week via audience votes with the last one standing declared the winner.
In India, streaming services are referred to as OTT, or over-the-top, services. In the streaming version of the show, viewers have round-the-clock access to footage from the cameras set up around the house, as opposed to the daily episodes aired on traditional channels.
In both versions, contestants are given tasks and audience votes are tabulated each week, resulting in eliminations.
Localised versions of both Bigg Boss and Bigg Boss OTT exist in several languages in India, with the Hindi version hosted by Bollywood superstar Khan.
Now it its second season, Bigg Boss OTT Hindi also featured Lebanese model and Dubai resident Jad Hadid, who has appeared in a few Bollywood films. Tajik influencer Abdu Rozik, who lives in Dubai, also made a guest appearance.
