KBC winner Sushil Kumar turns down `Big Boss` offer

Sushil Kumar has turned down an offer to enter the reality show `Bigg Boss` for the sake of his image as an youth icon.

Mumbai: Sushil Kumar, the first to win Rs.5 crore on "Kaun Banega Crorepati 5", has turned down an offer to enter the reality show `Bigg Boss` for the sake of his image as an youth icon.

"I was approached by the officials of the Endemol India and offered a place in `Big Boss`, but I refused," said Sushil. "More than any thing, my image is important for me. I don`t want to do anything that affects my image." Endemol India has been producing "Big Boss" that comes on Color channel. In the reality show, celebrities from different walks of life are locked inside a house for 14 weeks. The fifth season of the show, which went on air Oct 2, sees a mixed gag bag of the aggressive and argumentative celebs like Akashdeep Saigal, Amar Upadhyay, Siddharth Bharadwaj, Pooja Missra, Shraddha Sharma, Mahek Chahal, Juhi Parmar, Pooja Bedi, Shonali Nagrani, and porn star Sunny Leone. "If I joined `Big Boss` and stayed there for some days, it would have changed my mindset and diverted me from my goal," the 27-year-old told IANS. Sushil is happy to be the brand ambassador for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee SCheme (MNREGS) and said: "It is a matter of pride for me to work for common people." Before winning the top prize in KBC hosted by mega star Amitabh Bachchan, Sushil worked as a computer operator for the MNREGS in Motihari, his native town in East Champaran district of Bihar. The 27-year-old is married and lives in a large joint family with five brothers, five nieces and a nephew. IANS