Voters declare Aruba Mirza winner of 'Tamasha Season 2'

The finale of Tamasha season 2 aired on Saturday night and saw emerging actor Aruba Mirza take home the coveted trophy. Among the finalists were other emerging stars from the entertainment industry, namely Omer Shahzad, Faizan Sheikh, Junaid Niazi, and Neha Khan.

Hosted by Mohib Mirza, the finale featured musical performances by singer Asim Azhar and comedian Ali Sikander, who was also a contestant on the show but was eliminated by way of fewer votes a few days prior to the final episode. Adnan Siddiqui also graced the stage in his Badshah Salamat persona, sitting on his throne chair for the entire runtime.

Among the audience were families of the top-five contestants who had come with hopes of seeing their family member win the trophy and the whopping Rs25 lacs cash prize. Also present were all the nine contestants who had been eliminated from the race earlier on, as well as some fan-favourite contestants from the original first season of the show, including Tamasha season 1 winner Umer Aalam.

As the episode went on, the pool of finalists became smaller and smaller. Faizan was the first one to go, having received the least number of votes through the open public polling. Next, Neha was eliminated, with many fans and viewers still in awe of how far she had made it despite being one of the least-liked members of the house.

After Neha, it was Omer’s turn to exit the race, much to the disappointment of several Tamasha fans who had been rooting for him to be crowned the winner. Finally, the competition was left between Junaid and Aruba who had shared a good bond throughout the 50-day co-habitation arrangement.

With Adnan taking centre stage and the two finalists standing on each side of him, the air was thick with suspense and excitement as the audience and former contestants awaited the long-anticipated announcement. After drawing out the announcement as much as he could, Adnan declared Aruba as the winner among much cheer and celebration from the spectators.

The second installment of Tamasha was an official adaptation of the original format of the US-based reality show Big Brother. Much like its American counterpart, Tamasha is a reality show where contestants are completely cut off from the outside world and made to co-exist in a single house where they share household responsibilities.

They also simultaneously perform special tasks and participate in elaborate games to save themselves from the elimination round that takes place each week until only a small pool of contestants are left and made to fight for the winning prize and glory.