Popular playback singer Rahul Sipliganj has emerged as the winner of Bigg Boss Telugu 3, the reality TV show hosted by Nagarjuna Akkineni. He has taken home a trophy and the grand prize of Rs 50 lakh.
Rahul was declared as the winner after he won the most number of votes from the audience, closely followed by television anchor Sreemukhi. Besides the duo, the top five contestants included Arun Sandesh, Baba Bhaskar and Ali Reza.
Around seven crore votes were said to have been cast by the public for the final episode.
Actor Chiranjeevi made a special appearance for the grand finale of the show, which also saw the arrival of other popular actors like Catherine Tresa, Anurag Kulkarni, Srikanth, Raashi Khanna and director Maruthi among others.
Former contestants of the show also took to the stage for various performances. Following this, Rahul Sipliganj was announced as the winner by Nagarjuna and Chiranjeevi.
Congratulations #RahulSipligunj for winning #BiggBossTelugu3 title. Wishing you all the very best for your future endeavours #BB3TeluguFinale pic.twitter.com/jeFcJIJS5o
— STAR MAA (@StarMaa) November 3, 2019
Rahul, a singer-songwriter, is best known for his unique style of music that is derived from Telangana folk music. While he started off his career on YouTube, one of his more recent songs include "Ranga Ranga Rangasthalana" from the Ram Charan-starrer Rangasthalam.
The third season of Bigg Boss Telugu premiered on July 21, 2019 on Star Maa. The Bigg Boss house was constructed in Annapurna 7acres, a property belonging to Nagarjuna's Annapurna Studios.
Ahead of the show's premiere, Star MAA found itself in the centre of a controversy after a few women alleged that they were sexually harassed by the organisers of the show.
Journalist Swetha Reddy and actor Gaythri Gupta were among the prominent women who alleged that the organisers of the show sought sexual favours from them. They also complained to the National Commission for Women. However, the show went ahead as scheduled.
The first season of Bigg Boss Telugu premiered on July 16, 2017 and was hosted by Jr NTR. The season concluded on September 24, 2017. The second season of the show was hosted by Nani and premiered on June 10, 2018. The grand finale of season 2 was held on September 30, 2018.