YouTuber Payal Gaming says she was targeted on Alliance, recalls feeling isolated
Payal Gaming said she felt isolated in Alliance after contestants formed rival alliances. She said watching the episodes later revealed who was driving the game against her.
Gaming creator Payal Dhare, better known as Payal Gaming, may not have made it to the finale of Alliance, but she undoubtedly emerged as one of the reality show’s most talked-about contestants. From being singled out by the majority group to refusing to blindly follow alliances, Payal’s journey was anything but smooth. In an exclusive chat with India Today, the 25-year-old YouTuber said she did expect competition but didn’t anticipate feeling so isolated.
“The lowest point was when everyone started making alliances. I had voted for Bali because I genuinely believed Agu and Bali would join hands with me. We had spoken about not playing under the shadow of the two brothers (Arsalan and Aly Goni) and creating our own alliance. I believed them, but at the last moment, they flipped and joined the majority. That really broke me. I remember thinking, ‘I’m done.’ I felt so left out; I also cried a lot. That feeling was the worst," she shared, while talking about her most difficult days in the headquarters.
Interestingly, despite everything that happened, Payal says she’s proud of the one thing she never compromised on. She said, “I never became anybody’s follower. I wasn’t a part of any crowd. I fought for myself throughout the show. From day one, people wanted me out. Even after Vanshaj (Singh) left, everyone started saying, ‘Now it’s Payal’s turn.’ They wouldn’t include me in their teams, but I never stopped playing my own game.”
While many viewers saw Kushal Tandon as the face of the group that constantly targeted her, Payal admitted that he wasn’t acting alone. For her, Kushal was the only one saying it out loud, but there was an entire group behind him. "Mini (Mathur) ma’am, Nikhil (Chinapa) Sir, Arsalan, Daisy Shah and Rivva were all part of it. They would tell others not to play with me because I would put them in danger or speak against them," she said.
Payal on watching the show after her exit
Watching the episodes after her eviction turned out to be another eye-opener for the content creator. That’s when she realised the game was being played very differently from what she had experienced inside the house. With a loud chuckle, Payal said, "The biggest shock was Nikhil Sir. Throughout the show, I kept thinking Arsalan and Kushal were playing a dirty game. But after watching the episodes, I realised Nikhil Sir had started planning everything from the very first week. Somewhere I knew he was smart, but I never imagined he was the mastermind behind the alliances.”
She added that seeing the footage also changed the way she looked at several contestants: “Inside the house, people would speak so sweetly to me. They would make me feel like they supported me. But after coming out and watching the episodes, I realised the same people were saying completely different things behind my back. It was honestly very confusing.”
Payal entered Alliance as one of the biggest names on the contestant list, thanks to her massive 4.68 million fan following on YouTube. But she feels the same quality that made audiences connect with her and eventually made her an easy target inside the game.
“I don’t think I have anything to regret. I played with dignity. I stood for myself, and always put across my opinion. That’s what you’re supposed to do in a reality show. If you don’t speak up, then why are you there? Maybe that backfired because the moment I questioned people, I became their target," she concluded.
With Aly Goni already the first finalist, Alliance is set to find its winner on August 7. The reality TV show streams every day on Prime Video.
Gaming creator Payal Dhare, better known as Payal Gaming, may not have made it to the finale of Alliance, but she undoubtedly emerged as one of the reality show’s most talked-about contestants. From being singled out by the majority group to refusing to blindly follow alliances, Payal’s journey was anything but smooth. In an exclusive chat with India Today, the 25-year-old YouTuber said she did expect competition but didn’t anticipate feeling so isolated.
“The lowest point was when everyone started making alliances. I had voted for Bali because I genuinely believed Agu and Bali would join hands with me. We had spoken about not playing under the shadow of the two brothers (Arsalan and Aly Goni) and creating our own alliance. I believed them, but at the last moment, they flipped and joined the majority. That really broke me. I remember thinking, ‘I’m done.’ I felt so left out; I also cried a lot. That feeling was the worst," she shared, while talking about her most difficult days in the headquarters.
Interestingly, despite everything that happened, Payal says she’s proud of the one thing she never compromised on. She said, “I never became anybody’s follower. I wasn’t a part of any crowd. I fought for myself throughout the show. From day one, people wanted me out. Even after Vanshaj (Singh) left, everyone started saying, ‘Now it’s Payal’s turn.’ They wouldn’t include me in their teams, but I never stopped playing my own game.”
While many viewers saw Kushal Tandon as the face of the group that constantly targeted her, Payal admitted that he wasn’t acting alone. For her, Kushal was the only one saying it out loud, but there was an entire group behind him. "Mini (Mathur) ma’am, Nikhil (Chinapa) Sir, Arsalan, Daisy Shah and Rivva were all part of it. They would tell others not to play with me because I would put them in danger or speak against them," she said.
Payal on watching the show after her exit
Watching the episodes after her eviction turned out to be another eye-opener for the content creator. That’s when she realised the game was being played very differently from what she had experienced inside the house. With a loud chuckle, Payal said, "The biggest shock was Nikhil Sir. Throughout the show, I kept thinking Arsalan and Kushal were playing a dirty game. But after watching the episodes, I realised Nikhil Sir had started planning everything from the very first week. Somewhere I knew he was smart, but I never imagined he was the mastermind behind the alliances.”
She added that seeing the footage also changed the way she looked at several contestants: “Inside the house, people would speak so sweetly to me. They would make me feel like they supported me. But after coming out and watching the episodes, I realised the same people were saying completely different things behind my back. It was honestly very confusing.”
Payal entered Alliance as one of the biggest names on the contestant list, thanks to her massive 4.68 million fan following on YouTube. But she feels the same quality that made audiences connect with her and eventually made her an easy target inside the game.
“I don’t think I have anything to regret. I played with dignity. I stood for myself, and always put across my opinion. That’s what you’re supposed to do in a reality show. If you don’t speak up, then why are you there? Maybe that backfired because the moment I questioned people, I became their target," she concluded.
With Aly Goni already the first finalist, Alliance is set to find its winner on August 7. The reality TV show streams every day on Prime Video.
Gaming creator Payal Dhare, better known as Payal Gaming, may not have made it to the finale of Alliance, but she undoubtedly emerged as one of the reality show’s most talked-about contestants. From being singled out by the majority group to refusing to blindly follow alliances, Payal’s journey was anything but smooth. In an exclusive chat with India Today, the 25-year-old YouTuber said she did expect competition but didn’t anticipate feeling so isolated.
“The lowest point was when everyone started making alliances. I had voted for Bali because I genuinely believed Agu and Bali would join hands with me. We had spoken about not playing under the shadow of the two brothers (Arsalan and Aly Goni) and creating our own alliance. I believed them, but at the last moment, they flipped and joined the majority. That really broke me. I remember thinking, ‘I’m done.’ I felt so left out; I also cried a lot. That feeling was the worst," she shared, while talking about her most difficult days in the headquarters.
Interestingly, despite everything that happened, Payal says she’s proud of the one thing she never compromised on. She said, “I never became anybody’s follower. I wasn’t a part of any crowd. I fought for myself throughout the show. From day one, people wanted me out. Even after Vanshaj (Singh) left, everyone started saying, ‘Now it’s Payal’s turn.’ They wouldn’t include me in their teams, but I never stopped playing my own game.”
While many viewers saw Kushal Tandon as the face of the group that constantly targeted her, Payal admitted that he wasn’t acting alone. For her, Kushal was the only one saying it out loud, but there was an entire group behind him. "Mini (Mathur) ma’am, Nikhil (Chinapa) Sir, Arsalan, Daisy Shah and Rivva were all part of it. They would tell others not to play with me because I would put them in danger or speak against them," she said.
Payal on watching the show after her exit
Watching the episodes after her eviction turned out to be another eye-opener for the content creator. That’s when she realised the game was being played very differently from what she had experienced inside the house. With a loud chuckle, Payal said, "The biggest shock was Nikhil Sir. Throughout the show, I kept thinking Arsalan and Kushal were playing a dirty game. But after watching the episodes, I realised Nikhil Sir had started planning everything from the very first week. Somewhere I knew he was smart, but I never imagined he was the mastermind behind the alliances.”
She added that seeing the footage also changed the way she looked at several contestants: “Inside the house, people would speak so sweetly to me. They would make me feel like they supported me. But after coming out and watching the episodes, I realised the same people were saying completely different things behind my back. It was honestly very confusing.”
Payal entered Alliance as one of the biggest names on the contestant list, thanks to her massive 4.68 million fan following on YouTube. But she feels the same quality that made audiences connect with her and eventually made her an easy target inside the game.
“I don’t think I have anything to regret. I played with dignity. I stood for myself, and always put across my opinion. That’s what you’re supposed to do in a reality show. If you don’t speak up, then why are you there? Maybe that backfired because the moment I questioned people, I became their target," she concluded.
With Aly Goni already the first finalist, Alliance is set to find its winner on August 7. The reality TV show streams every day on Prime Video.
