Mumbai, Jan 31 (IANS): Ending 16 weeks of drama and suspense, and occasional talk about the inability of Season 15 to get the kind of audience engagement that the previous editions were able to manage, the reality show's host Salman Khan well past Sunday midnight declared Tejasswi Prakash as the winner of 'Bigg Boss 15'.

Tejasswi, engineering graduate-turned-television actress who was earlier in the evening named as the face of 'Naagin 6', Ekta Kapoor's fantasy drama aired on Colors, gets to go home with the Bigg Boss trophy and a cheque of Rs 40 lakh.

The favourite to win the trophy, Pratik Sehajpal, an Amity Law School alumnus who's now a motivational speaker and actor, had to be content with the runner-up slot. Karan Kundrra, a former Roadies 'gang leader' who later hosted the crime show 'Gumraah', was No. 3.

Moments before declaring the winner, Salman Khan created a heart-stopping moment by pulling a prank on Pratik, saying he had been evicted, only to call him back on the stage and break the bad news to Karan that it was he who had to exit. Kundra said he was disappointed that he was not able to make it to the Top 2.

Salman closed the show with a cliffhanger, saying he looked forward to the next season "with or without me". Are we going to see Salman in 'Bigg Boss 16'? The question will keep the gossip mills of the industry working overtime for some time.