Snehashish roy
Actor Gauahar Khan has strongly criticised reality show contestant Nikhil Chinapa over a remark linking her criticism of his gameplay on Alliance to menopause and perimenopause. Calling the comment “ignorant” and “disgusting”, Gauahar said it was insensitive to women and urged Nikhil to apologise for trivialising a significant phase of women’s health.
The controversy began after Nikhil was asked about Gauahar’s recent criticism of his performance on the reality show. Gauahar, whose husband Zaid Darbar is currently a contestant on Alliance, had earlier accused Nikhil and fellow contestant Mini Mathur of favouring actor Kushal Tandon during the competition and not giving other participants, including Zaid, a fair chance.
Responding to the criticism in an interview, Nikhil said he had heard from Zaid that Gauahar thought highly of him. He then remarked that Mini might have better insight into Gauahar’s comments because she “deals a lot with menopause and perimenopause”. The statement quickly drew backlash on social media, with many users accusing him of reducing a woman’s opinion to hormonal changes.
Gauahar addressed the issue through a series of videos on Instagram, saying she was deeply disappointed by Nikhil’s response. She said it was upsetting to see men continue to display ignorance about menopause and perimenopause despite having women in their families and lives.
Expressing her disappointment, Gauahar said she had always respected Nikhil and even spoken positively about him to Zaid before he entered the show. She described him as someone she admired for his personality and body of work, making it even more surprising that he would use menopause as a way to dismiss her opinion on a reality show contestant.
The actor clarified that her comments were directed solely at Nikhil’s gameplay and had nothing to do with him personally. She argued that disagreeing with someone’s strategy in a reality show should not invite remarks implying that a woman is being driven by hormonal changes.
Gauahar also objected to what she called the tendency to invalidate women’s opinions by attributing them to age or biology. She pointed out that she gave birth to her first child just nine months ago and said it was factually incorrect to assume she was going through menopause or perimenopause. She urged Nikhil to educate himself on the subject before making such statements publicly.
She further stressed that women experiencing menopause or perimenopause should never be made to feel that their opinions are less credible because of a natural stage of life. According to Gauahar, such remarks reinforce stereotypes that undermine women’s voices and experiences. She said Nikhil owed an apology not only to her but also to “your wife and the women in your life” for failing to recognise the sensitivity of the issue.
Neither Nikhil Chinapa nor the makers of Alliance have publicly responded to Gauahar’s latest remarks.