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Cape Town – Puppetmaster Tevin Naidu had his strings snipped on Survivor SA: Philippines when he became the sixth castaway to be eliminated off the island.
It was also the end of an epic bromance as the 24-year-old doctor was blindsided by his ally PK, who turned his alliance against him.
We chatted to Tevin about the surprise move, how far he thinks PK will make it in the game and found out how he kept his beard so well-groomed on the island.
At what point during Tribal Council did it hit you that you could be the one voted out?
I sort of picked up some clues along the way to tribal. I had a hunch but I wasn’t certain. So what I decided to do as soon as I got to tribal council was to bring up blue blood [team Mindanao]. That was my plan, bring it up to see the reactions I get and the moment I brought it up I picked up immediately that PK was having conflicted views. So I knew while sitting there that I was going home.
How do you think PK is going to play the game without you?
PK’s blindside didn’t really surprise me. I knew that I was playing a very strong game. Early on people realised that Werner and I were the biggest threats in the game.
We even had a discussion. I told him that you are the biggest social player here and he told me that I was the biggest strategic threat. So we decided that we would be each other’s shield.
I knew PK would do something at some point, however I personally think it was too soon. I controlled his game. I did all the manoeuvring and all the strategising for him so he had an easy run - he hardly did anything.
Without me there I think it is going to be tough for him to make those alliances work. I don’t know how it is going to play out but I do know that I formed most of his alliances for us and I was going to take him as far as he could go, but we’ll see how he does.
You were quite complacent and over-confident – in hindsight what would you have done differently?
When I got to that island I planned not to tell anyone that I was a doctor. I planned to keep quiet about it and play a little less intensely. But when I saw Marthunis standing there in his suit and speaking Afrikaans to Werner I got a little paranoid.
So I decided to change my game plan and come across a little stronger so that he could start listening to me and it worked. And then I adapted my plan from there.
I do regret not giving PK a little bit of some play. But many times when he approached me with game plans he never really backed up his plan with anything solid that we could work with moving forward. Although I do wish I could have given him something none of his plans were executable from my side. Getting me out obviously worked but I’d like to see how far it works for him in the long run.
Watching the show now is there anything that has come as a surprise for you?
I think it is cool that Werner found another idol. On the island I said it many times the one person I connected with was Werner. We are both such intense fans of Survivor.
We love this game so much and we both connected with that on the island many times. So for me watching him find the idols and do all these other things, as a super fan I am really proud of him and I hope he does well. I am rooting for Werner.
How did you keep your facial hair so well-groomed on the island?
(Laughs) I get that a lot. My hair is thick and black and people often ask me about it. We got sunblock on the island so I would occasionally take some of it and just twirl my moustache - to get that villain stache going to make myself look even more villainous. My goal was to entertain the fans and if it had to be a mafia type villain who had to discipline Marthunis then so be it.
Catch Survivor SA: Philippines Thursdays at 19:00 on M-Net (DStv 101)
(Photos supplied: M-Net)
