The 50 grand finale: Reality star Prince Narula has emerged as a strong contender on the gaming-based captive reality show The 50. During the semi-finals on Saturday night, Prince secured a spot in the finale alongside Rajat Dalal, Mr. Faisu, and Immortal Kaka. However, in a surprising move, he chose to make a ‘big’ sacrifice by giving up his place in the finale to Shiv Thakare.

While the gesture left contestants emotional, many netizens criticised Prince, calling it a calculated publicity stunt.

After competing strongly in the game for 26 days, Prince Narula decided to hang up his boots. Making a voluntary exit, Prince said, “When I came here on the first day, a lot of people lined up behind me to lead them; that was my victory. I came on this show for my wife, and when I saw so many of my brothers were here too, I had to lead them. If Faisu hadn’t won today, I would have given this to him. I see him as the best competition. This is the end of my journey, I write my own victory and defeat. I don’t wish to go forward in the game, and want to give my ticket to the finale to Shiv. I want him to go ahead.”

Also Read: The 50 grand finale: Mr Faisu, Shiv Thakare, Rajat Dalal, and Immortal Kaka emerge as top 4 finalists

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In another video, Prince said, “I thank you, guys, for inviting me. I am breaking my own winning streak. I want to go home and meet my daughter. She is my trophy. I was here to show the Gen Z that when we play, it’s hard to defeat us. I want the youngsters to come forward now and take my legacy forward. I am okay to see anybody win, except for Rajat Dalal. In terms of the task, his contribution in the show has been zero.”

Prince Narula was often accused of flaunting his past victories during The 50. However, when he chose to quit the game voluntarily, he faced significant backlash from fans on X. One of them wrote, “Funny how he was scared to even enter the unsafe zone in the previous task, and he’s giving away a finale ticket like it means nothing. Something doesn’t add up.” Another user wrote, “Bcoz Prince knows he can’t win in finale against Faisu and Rajat toh sacrifice kardo.” A third internet user shared, “Bhayankar pr chal rahi hai bhai, Prince badhiya game khel raha hai, woh toh finale jayega he lekin usne pehle jeetke Shiv ko de Diya taki sympathy bhi mile aur log acha bolenge aur wese bhi badmein toh woh finale jayega he. Makers uske taraf jo hain (This is some crazy PR strategy. Prince is playing a great game, so he will be in the finale, but before that, he gave the chance to Shiv so that he gets sympathy and praise from people, any which ways makers are biased towards him).” 

One of the users also pointed out, “Scripted drama to gain public sympathy for the Prince.” With the latest development, the makers of The 50 have also received criticism. One of the users noted, “Scripted hai kya show, captive se jyada scripted vibes aati hai. Yeh tyaagdari kyun…like kuch bhi ho raha hai (Is the show scripted? More than captive, it has scripted vibes. Why this sacrifice? It seems anything is happening).” Another user also said, “Bhai yeh kesa show hai jidhar banday ticket to finale kisi aur ko de rhay aur show wale accept bhi kr rhay. (What kind of a show is this, where a person is giving away the ticket to the finale and the makers are accepting it?)”

While some of Prince Narula’s fellow contestants were moved by his gesture, others viewed it as a strategic move. Shiv Thakare, who was surprised by Prince’s decision, said, “I feel blessed that he chose me, but I feel the weight of this sacrifice. I would have been happier to win this on my merit.” Urvashi Dholakia went on to criticize the move and said, “He could have given this to Krishna if he wanted; she was also extremely deserving. She was also on his team. But he chose a male over a female.”

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Rajat Dalal also criticized the decision and said, “When someone is alone, all the claims he has made are at stake. So it’s better to leave everything behind than face defeat. At least tomorrow, he can say that he quit, rather than saying he lost.” Rajat also told Uravshi later, “I liked this fear Prince had. He has earned so much that he fears losing it. If he didn’t want to win the show, why did he come on it? Had he made his gang strong, he wouldn’t need to handhold them. Not once did he take my name to win. I actually wanted to fight, but it was his moment, so I stepped back.”

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Rajat also confronted Prince Narula later and said that he didn’t like Prince’s decision.