‘Bigg Boss 17’ winner: Who is Munawar Faruqui? 

The winner of ‘Bigg Boss 17’ has finally been announced and the winner is none other than Munawar Faruqui.

He did not only take the coveted trophy home but also a cash prize of Rs 50 lakhs and a brand new Hyundai Creta.

Munawar Faruqui has had one of the most memorable journeys inside the ‘Bigg Boss 17’ house. Right from the very onset, he was under the spotlight. Not only was he strategic, but he was also his hurdles to his advantage.

Here is everything we have gathered about the newly crowned winner of ‘Big Boss 17’:

Born in January 1992, Munawar Iqbal Faruqui is an Indian stand-up comedian, rapper, and singer. Before participating in Bigg Boss 17 and emerging as a winner, Faruqui won Kangana Ranaut’s reality TV show, Lock Upp Season 1 in 2022.

Early life and poverty

Faruqi had to leave school after grade 5 when his father lost the money and came under a huge debt, due to financial constraints. He started to work to make ends meet as a child. From working at a gift shop to selling samosas, he had worked at all places.

Career

In April 2020, he uploaded a standup comedy video named “Dawood, Yamraaj & Aurat” on his channel, which earned him his initial stardom and later released his debut song ‘Jawab’ in collaboration with an Indian musician Spectra in August 2020.

He later became won a reality show on Balaji Telefilms’s reality television show ‘Lock Upp’ in 2022.  In the same year in November, he did a Punjabi song named “Todh” along with Prince Narula and Rony Ajnali.

Personal life

Faruqui married Jasmine in 2017 but the marriage ended in a divorce in 2022 with whom the ex couple has a five-year-old son. Since December 2021, he had been dating social media influencer Nazila Sitaishi but ended recently.

Womaniser

In Bigg Boss, his ex-partner Ayesha Khan accused him of two-timing her and Sitaishi and being involved with multiple women. Subsequently, on 18 December 2023, Sitaishi broke up with him on Instagram Live, accusing him of cheating. He even was labeled as a ‘Womaniser’ by the audience.

Arrest and controversy

Munawar Faruqui was on his tour where he was performing comedy in different cities of India. On 1 January 2021, he performed a stand-up show at Munro Cafe in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, which was interrupted by Eklavya Singh Gaur, son of BJP MLA Malini Gaur accusing him of making malicious jokes about Hindu deities and the Minister of Home Affairs of India, Amit Shah.

On 2 January, he was arrested by Madhya Pradesh Police in the midst of his comic act, stating that he was arrested under the Hate speech laws in India. The police, however, had no evidence against Munawar, still arrested him. 

His arrest was heavily criticised for not respecting a comedian’s freedom of speech. He was subsequently granted bail and spent 37 days in jail.