The winner takes it all
Ousted from the show for his non-viable project, Irfan Alam returns to be crowned the Business Baazigar
Sapana Patil Poojary
It certainly is unusual for an ousted contestant of a reality show to make a last minute re-entry and then emerge a winner! Irfan Alam, the contestant from Delhi was earlier ousted from the Business Baazigar show on the grounds of non-viability of his business idea. However, the same Irfan was crowned the Business Baazigar on Saturday.
When he was eliminated a few months ago, Irfan was extremely miffed with the format of the show and had expressed his displeasure over the same.
As the show progressed, the competition had boiled down to just two contestants—Ali Ismail and Puneet. However, just then, Subhash Chandra, chairman, Zee Telefilms, surprised everyone by announcing a wild card entry to Irfan. This wild card entry permitted Irfan to re-enter the final round of Business Baazigar. This gave him another chance to battle for the coveted title provided Irfan was ready to forfeit the amount (Rs 20 lakh) that was given to him earlier by the show to start his project on a pilot. Luckily for him, Irfan took up the challenge.
"I like challenges. That's the sign of a true businessman. So, I took the risk of forfeiting Rs 20 lakh," says Irfan. "I had said a lot of things against the show format when I was ousted. But now my opinion has changed. Subhash Chandraji truly believes in promoting talent. Hence, he felt that I should be given another chance. This wild card entry was a last-minute surprise from him and I have made the most of it."
Irfan feels it was his confidence that did the trick. "I didn't lose hope. When I was ousted, I had challenged them that by the time the competition would reach its final stage my business would be running well. And I have recovered 60 per cent of my investment in the first month," he says.
Irfan was pitted against Ali Ismail and Puneet who had reached the finals through the regular process. "In the Q&A session, I was grilled by Vijaypath Singhania, Narendra Goyal and other corporate honchos. But I remained cool and emerged a winner."
All the same, Irfan feels that if he hadn't won the contest, he would nevertheless be the Business Baazigar in real life. "There were times when people made things difficult for me. But I resolved to go tackle the tough phase. I believe I am a born-entrepreneur," he says. He is now in the process of expanding his business to smaller towns.
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