The return of former contestant Aarush Bhola and Laila, aka Varun Yadav, has triggered fresh rivalries on the reality show Rise and Fall Season 2.
Aarush, a finalist and Ultimate Worker in the previous season, reignited an old rivalry between Shehzad Poonawalla and Rishabh when he asked Shehzad about his favourite contestant. Shehzad named Swara Bhasker, prompting Rishabh to tell him he had “no spine”.
Shehzad responded with a dig at Rishabh’s acting career, reviving their long-standing feud. Swara, meanwhile, exchanged playful banter with Aarush over her films and said, “Mere apne khudke opinion kaafi hai aapki career phukne ke liye aapki help ki zarurat nahi hai”, drawing laughter with her retort.
Down in the Basement, Aarush urged the Workers to stop complaining and focus on playing the game. He then asked them whose videos they thought would receive the most dislikes, prompting Sara Gurpal to name Priyanka Chahar Choudhary.
The exchange brought their already strained equation back into focus, with the disagreement escalating into threats. Sara warned, “Yeh dono haatho mein se ek haath uth gaya, mein bata rahi hu…”.
The biggest test of the Tower’s power balance unfolded on the Fortune Floor, where Ultimate Ruler Niharika Tiwari was offered a deal that could have brought the Workers closer to a potential change in power.
Aarush offered to add Rs 10 lakh to the Penthouse Prize Pot if Niharika gave up her Ultimate Ruler position. Varun, however, proposed a counteroffer under which she could retain her position at the cost of Rs 5 lakh being deducted from the pot.
Niharika chose to retain her position, leaving the Rulers dissatisfied and exposing divisions within the Penthouse.
Sara was also presented with two options after her fall from power. Varun offered her immunity from nominations in exchange for a deduction of Rs 2.5 lakh from the Basement Prize Pot. Aarush, on the other hand, offered to add Rs 2.5 lakh to the pot if she nominated herself.
Sara eventually chose to nominate herself, prioritising the Workers’ collective interests over her individual safety.
Niharika ranked her fellow Rulers according to who she believed was most deserving of their position in the Penthouse. Kajal Raghwani topped the list, followed by Manish Kashyap, Priyanka and Gautam Gulati, while Sonam was placed last and sent directly into the nominations.
Gautam, appointed as the operator, nominated Priyanka from the options of Priyanka, Manish and Kajal, placing her alongside Sara.
Sonam later nominated Manish before taking over as operator. She initially selected Gautam but changed her decision to Kajal after the other Rulers questioned her choice, leaving Gautam safe for the week.
Produced by Banijay Asia, Rise and Fall Season 2 is hosted by Virender Sehwag and streams free exclusively on Prime Video, with new episodes released daily at 12 noon.