Over and out for Marc Robinson

Unarguably, one of the last standing celebrities in the Malaysian rain forest, Marc Robinson, lost his opportunity to make it to the finale of Sony’s Iss Jungle Se Mujhe Bachao, in a surprise elimination that started on Monday, and is expected to continue till the last day of the show.

Robinson and Anaida had the least votes and had to fight it out in the maha jungle challenge to survive. Robinson lost out because it was a physically gruelling task and his back gave away.

“I had thought that in the last stages of the contest, I’ll take a shot in the back every day like I did every week throughout the contest to keep it going and pull off the tasks. But my back didn’t support me. Never mind. I have lost eight kilos and gone through a complete detoxification process. So I only gained out of my stay there,” says Robinson, adding that he’s come out a different person altogether.

Ask him if he’d miss his jungle mates, and Robinson says, “Not really! I’m happier to come out of that place. I’m going to be with my kids and wife very soon. Actually, I’m missing the openness, the thundershowers, the sound of the rapids and the insects. It took me a day to believe that I was surrounded by good food and had a nice bed to sleep on.”
He adds that he stayed on coffee and tea for the first day when he came out of the jungle.
Quiz him about his Mr Know-It-All-Status and he says, “I didn’t comment about anyone, whether it’s Mona (Vasu) or Aakash (Saigal) with a malicious intention. It was all in a light vein. Why would I offend people whom I’ll bump into every second day after the show’s over?”

When asked about Negar Khan and Shweta Tiwari’s early exits from the show, for what seemed like a TRP-gaining stunt, Robinson defends, “Negar was eliminated from the game because she didn’t get votes. Shweta had been missing her daughter from day one. She walked out when she couldn’t take the game further. As for us walking out, there were lots of things out of order, which fell into place ASAP after that incident.”

But he doesn’t get defensive of the fact that the TRPs of the show have been extremely low throughout the season. He argues that the ratings couldn’t have been higher than what they are. He reasons, “Our show airs at 10 pm which is dinnertime in most households. Obviously, they wouldn’t be able to watch us chewing roasted rats and scorpions and gulping grasshopper juice. Plus, the international seasons are three-week-long. Ours is running into eight weeks. So, there’s only so much the show can give.”