When housemate Nikki Tamboli entered the Bigg Boss 14 house, her operative mantra was being loud. She made headlines with her fashion statements that stood out, as well as a gameplan that largely comprised crass antics, openly engaging in fights.
The strategy stood her in good stead for weeks. Fans of the show lapped up the bold and beautiful image that Nikki was peddling during that initial stint.
All that has ended with the arrival of Arshi Khan and Rakhi Sawant.
With the entry of Arshi and Rakhi, Nikki seems to have has realised her original gameplan of being loud will not work in front of these divas of loud gimmicks. So, she has smartly changed her game.
The all-new Nikki Tamboli is quieter. She is also more sly -- a smooth operator who obviously relishes using the guys in the house to her advantage.
Nikki could be defined as an individual player during her initial days in the house. She was seen standing up for herself, using often bizarre language and even performing the tasks with full aggression.
On Bigg Boss, where ugly behaviour is directly proportional to getting votes, Nikki had a continuous run full throttle until she was evicted from the show for receiving low votes.
Soon after she re-entered the house, and with the advent of Arshi and Rakhi, Nikki realised that she had to change her plan to survive and thrive in the show.
Nikki, who came across as a loudmouth, couldn't fight much with Rakhi Sawant, who was seen using crass language and slut-shaming her for sitting with fellow contestants.
Nikki, who was earlier close to ex-contestant Jaan Kumar Sanu, even tried setting up a romantic angle with Aly Gony. She was heard saying in one episode that she "genuinely" likes Aly.
From an indovidual player to now making alliances with a group, Nikki, who is still a strong contender, somehow is seen moving ahead in the show. With Rahul Mahajan and Manu leaving the Bigg Boss 14 house for health reasons, it's less competition for all the survivors -- and that includes Nikki.