Bigg Boss Kannada 12 Winner Gilli Nata: From Mandya Roots to Reality Show Glory
The season finale brought great excitement to Kannada TV as Gilli Nata, the most popular contestant, was officially declared the Bigg Boss Kannada 12 winner. The spectacular finale event occurred on January 18, 2026, and the delightful Kichcha Sudeep was the principal host of the occasion.
The actor-comedian not only held the finalists’ attention and entertained them but also shared his happiness and made a significant contribution to the overall joy of the occasion through his always-cheerful persona. Besides the shining golden trophy, Gilli Nata was also awarded a fantastic cash prize of ₹50 lakhs and a Maruti Suzuki Victoris SUV.
His triumph was the end of a 112-day story that was full of laughter, bravery, and a strong connection with the audience, which finally helped him to surpass the second winner, Rakshitha Shetty.
Gilli Nata, whose real name was Malavalli Nataraj, has revealed a new winner of the reality show’s archetype and his identity with rural roots and the characteristically sharp language. Coming from the Mandya district, his fame was not only in the Bigg Boss house but also as the first runner-up of Comedy Kiladigalu Season 4.
His distinct “Mandya dialect” and humorousness that everyone can relate to made him a digital star, but it was the BBK12 show that gave him the status of a celebrity in every household in Karnataka.
By being the “Gilli” all the time, a combination of being spontaneous and courageous, he was the first contestant this season to get more than one million followers on Instagram in no time, thus indicating that his fame was not a passing phenomenon but rather a cultural movement.
The spectacular victory of Gilli Nata in the 12th season was mainly supported through an exceptional mixture of “mind over muscle” tactics. Although he mostly kept physical confrontations off his list of options, his quick-wittedness during the tasks and power to shatter arguments with laughter often protected him from being eliminated.
The audience so liked this “Matada Mallamma” (the talkative champion) that they voted a whopping 37 crore times, his share during the finale week.
Even though there was great resistance from powerful names like Ashwini Gowda or Rakshitha Shetty, Gilli’s persistence in being “unfiltered” and revealing about his low-profile upbringing secured him the top position in every audience poll.
His triumph is labeled as an expression of the common man’s aspiration, thus making it a case of the victory of the underdog who, after all, started his path to glory in a tiny village of Malavalli.
A recent media graduate, Bhumi Vashisht is currently making a significant contribution as a committed content writer. She brings new ideas to the media sector and is an expert at creating strategic content and captivating tales, having working in the field from past four months.
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