4 min readMumbaiOct 1, 2026 11:44 AM IST
Former BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla made his reality show debut with Rise & Fall Season 2, and his stint on the show has already been making headlines. After reality show personality Siwet Tomar was evicted following a physical altercation with Shehzad, the latter has now revealed that he had actually requested the makers not to remove Siwet from the show. Shehzad said he asked them to forgive Siwet because the show was his source of income and he did not want his career to suffer.
In a recent episode of Rise & Fall 2, Shehzad Poonawalla was seen discussing his ongoing feud with actor Priyanka Chahar Choudhary with fellow contestant Irina Rudakova. The conversation came after Shehzad called Priyanka a “gold digger”, leading to a heated argument between the two. Shehzad later expressed his desire to leave the show, claiming that he was worried about his reputation. He also called Priyanka an “unstable person” and said he feared she might make allegations against him that his “rivals” could use to damage his image. Irina, however, advised him against quitting and suggested that he apologise to Priyanka and maintain a civil relationship with her. Shehzad argued that he was always expected to be the one to compromise and expressed his displeasure at being portrayed as the person at fault.
During the conversation, Shehzad recalled what happened after his physical altercation with Siwet and revealed that he had requested the makers to let him stay on the show. “When I got beaten and I went out, in two hours of that while taking treatment, I told the makers, ‘Don’t send him out, keep him. Forgive him.’ You know why I said so? Because that boy is 29-30 years old. This is his bread and butter. It’s not my bread and butter. So when I can forgive Siwet, you think I can’t apologise to Priyanka?” he said.
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Shehzad added that he was upset about being made to apologise to Priyanka despite believing that he had done nothing wrong. He also questioned why he was repeatedly expected to take responsibility for resolving conflicts.
The physical altercation between Shehzad and Siwet took place during the third episode of Rise & Fall Season 2. The argument began after Shehzad nominated Siwet for elimination from the Ultimate Ruler race. During their heated exchange, Shehzad called out Siwet for supporting Swara Bhasker, despite having earlier said that he would not speak to her at the beginning of the game.
The argument soon escalated, with Shehzad continuing to provoke Siwet. Siwet eventually lost his temper and charged towards him, leading to a physical altercation. Shehzad’s kurta was torn during the incident, while Swara was also seen asking Siwet not to hit him. Siwet was subsequently evicted from the show.
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Following his eviction, Siwet shared a video presenting his side of the story. He denied hitting Shehzad and claimed that he had only held him by the collar, which caused Shehzad to slip and tear his kurta. Siwet also alleged that Shehzad had repeatedly provoked him by making comments about his religion and caste.
While admitting that resorting to violence was wrong, Siwet claimed that Shehzad had also violated the show’s rules by bringing religion into the argument. He further argued that Shehzad should have faced eviction as well.