Roadies winner Ashutosh Kaushik Says the channel took 30% of his prize money due to contract details; says 'I argued that the Rs 1 crore was a prize and not a salary'

Ashutosh Kaushik, the winner of Bigg Boss 2 and Roadies, recently disclosed that the channel airing Roadies deducted 30% from his Bigg Boss prize money. He revealed that this decision led to a fallout with the channel, causing tension in their relationship.
In an interview with Siddharth Kannan, Ashutosh Kaushik revealed that his contract with the channel required him to give 30% of all his earnings to the channel for two years after his Roadies win. However, he mentioned that he had no one to guide him, plan his career moves, or manage his projects during this time.
He shared, "I won Rs 1 crore as prize money on Bigg Boss, but MTV insisted on taking ₹30 lakh, claiming I owed them that amount,” Ashutosh shared. “The contract stated that 30% of any earnings over two years had to go to MTV. I argued that the Rs 1 crore was a prize, a gift, and not a salary I’d earned.”
Ashutosh Kaushik, the Bigg Boss 2 winner, also revealed that he was the lowest-paid contestant of his season, earning just Rs 25,000 per week. With no one to negotiate for him, he signed the contract on his own. After disputing the 30% deduction, he and the channel reached a compromise, agreeing that he’d be hired as a VJ with a monthly salary of Rs 1.5 lakh. However, he was never actually hired as a VJ and instead only received a monthly cheque.
Discussing his Roadies prize, Ashutosh shared that he won Rs 2.5 lakhs and a bike. However, there was a catch—he had to pay the taxes on the bike himself before he could collect it from the showroom.

In the same interview, Ashutosh revealed that he often clashed with Raghu Ram, the show’s anchor and judge, as he found it difficult to handle Raghu’s intense and abusive language. Raghu, known for his blunt and confrontational judging style, became an unforgettable figure on the show, which enjoyed immense popularity among young viewers in its prime.