Bigg Boss Telugu 9 finale highlights: Kalyan Padala lifts trophy, beats Thanuja

The live coverage of the Bigg Boss Telugu Season 9 grand finale has come to an end.

After the trophy and prize money were handed over, winner Kalyan’s parents became emotional on stage, thanking the audience and viewers for standing by their son throughout his journey and supporting him till the very end.

Kalyan Padala was announced as the winner of Bigg Boss Telugu Season 9 after a closely fought finale against Thanuja, drawing loud cheers as he lifted the trophy.

After finalists Thanuja and Kalyan rejected the Rs 20 lakh golden suitcase, the show paused to play a special video celebrating host Nagarjuna’s journey through the season. Nagarjuna watched the montage from inside the house along with Thanuja and Kalyan before the finale moved to its final stage.

Host Nagarjuna entered the house to kick off the most-awaited segment of the night, walking in with the golden suitcase and offering Rs 20 lakh to either finalist if they chose to quit the title race. Both Kalyan and Thanuja turned down the Rs 20 lakh cash offer, choosing to stay in the race for the Bigg Boss Telugu 9 title.

After a tense segment and Pavan’s exit, actress Payal Rajput brought the energy back to the stage with a high-octane dance performance at the grand finale.

Actor Ravi Teja entered the house and took the top three finalists to the activity room, offering a cash-out option starting at Rs 5 lakh, which was gradually raised to Rs 7.5 lakh and then Rs 10 lakh.

After consulting his parents, Pavan agreed to take Rs 15 lakh, thanked the audience for their support, and exited the Bigg Boss Telugu 9 house, leaving Kalyan and Thanuja in the title race.

After Emmanuel’s eviction, celebrity guest Dimple Hayathi delivered a high-energy performance, followed by actors Ravi Teja and Ashika Ranganath, who added to the buzz with an energetic performance.

The team promoted their upcoming Sankranthi release Bhartha Mahasayulaku Wignyapthi, played the teaser on stage, and Ravi Teja was later given the task of going inside the house and announcing the next eviction.

Celebrity guests Naveen Polishetty and Meenakshi Chaudhary brought humour to the house with a light-hearted task for the top four finalists, with Naveen posing questions and the robo dog Rog revealing the answers.

Rog tagged Kalyan as the most strategic contestant, Thanuja as the food stealer and the one who cried the most, Emmanuel as the one who slept the most and cracked poor jokes. The segment ended with Rog announcing Emmanuel as the next contestant to be evicted.

In a candid segment hosted by Nagarjuna, the finalists shared who they would thank and apologise to from their journey inside the house. Kalyan thanked Thanuja and apologised to Bharani and Ramya, while Pavan thanked Thanuja and said sorry to Rithu and Divya. Thanuja thanked Kalyan for his support and apologised to Bharani, adding that Manish should say sorry for comments made about her. Emmanuel thanked Kalyan and Pavan, apologised to Bharani, and kept the mood light with jokes involving Pavan and Rithu.

Host Nagarjuna announced the launch of BB Jodi 2, set to air on Star Maa from next week. Judges Shekar Master, Sada and Sridevi Vijaykumar joined the stage as the promo featuring former Bigg Boss contestants was unveiled. Adding to the buzz, Sridevi and Sada performed on stage, while Shekar Master choreographed a special hook step to the Bigg Boss theme.

Actor Srikanth was given the responsibility of announcing the first eviction from the top five. Sanjana was declared safe first, followed by Thanuja, Pavan and Emmanuel, leaving Kalyan visibly emotional as the tension peaked.

In a sudden turn, Kalyan was announced safe, after which Srikanth halted the announcement and introduced a brief task. The moment ended with a dramatic entry of dancers carrying drums and garlands, following which Sanjjanaa Galrani was officially announced as the first finalist to be evicted.

Actor Srikanth entered the Bigg Boss house during the grand finale and shared his observations on the contestants. He described Thanuja as a “Telugu inti ammayi” and praised her as a strong and relatable player, while also appreciating Pavan and Kalyan for their journey from commoners to top finalists. Host Nagarjuna also revealed that Srikanth had once worked as his body double in Hello Brother.

Actors Roshan Meka and Anaswara Rajan appeared as celebrity guests at the grand finale, with host Nagarjuna unveiling the trailer of their upcoming film Champion. The duo also danced to a song from the film, while Nagarjuna spoke about Roshan’s debut, noting that he is the son of actor Srikanth and that the film is produced by him.

The episode turned light-hearted as host Nagarjuna asked the top five finalists to imitate each other’s imagined winning speeches. Emmanuel mimicked Pavan with jokes and gestures, Sanjana imitated Thanuja by calling it a win for Telugu people and women, Pavan recreated Kalyan’s humble tone while thanking voters, Thanuja hilariously copied Emmanuel’s dialogue style, and Kalyan spoofed Sanjana with a tongue-in-cheek speech, drawing loud laughter and applause.

The episode turned vibrant as singer Mangli delivered an energetic performance, blending folk flavours with popular mainstream songs, adding colour and tempo to the grand finale celebrations.

During the grand finale, host Nagarjuna asked former contestants to name their predicted winner.Former contestants were divided in their winner predictions during the finale. Kalyan received support from Sreeja, Suman, Gaurav, Harish and Priya, while Thanuja was backed by Bharani, Nikhil and Madhuri. Pavan found support from Ramu, Rithu and Manish, Emmanuel was backed by Ayesha and Srinivas, and Sanjana received support from Flora. While Kalyan emerged as the most-backed finalist, several votes also went to Thanuja, Pavan and Emmanuel, reflecting a split yet competitive sentiment among the ex-housemates. 

At the grand finale, host Nagarjuna hailed Bigg Boss Telugu 9 as the most successful season of the show, calling it the No. 1 programme in the country. He then revealed the trophy and announced the winner’s rewards, a cash prize of Rs 50 lakh and a Maruti Suzuki Victorious car, drawing loud cheers from the audience and former contestants.