Make way for the most controversial reality TV show! Bigg Boss has returned with its 13th season and it’s still as exciting as the first one. The idea of locking up a dozen strangers in a house away from the city, without giving them any gadgets to pass their time, sounds like a nightmare but given the popularity of the show, this social experiment has totally worked.
The show has managed to keep its fans glued to their TV sets for 12 seasons. We’ve seen verbal spats, physical fights, ego clashes, new friendships, budding romances and much more throughout all the seasons. We tend to pick sides every time two people in the Bigg Boss house run into a tussle. For reasons good or bad, the show is addictive.
Bollywood’s bhai Salman Khan has been hosting the show since season 4. He has schooled contestants, taken jives at them and made audiences laugh. It is safe to say that there’s no Bigg Boss without the Dabangg actor.
Now that it’s back on air, we thought we’d give you a little recap about the show and also talk about Season 13!
Concept Of The Show
Bigg Boss is an Indian reality television game show by Viacom 18 and airs on Colors TV. Online, it can be watched on the OTT platform Voot. If you thought it was just available in Hindi, you’re wrong. There’s Bigg Boss in Kannada, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi and Malayalam. The first show of the franchise debuted in 2006 and audiences quickly became addicted to the social experiment. Though when it started only celebrities were a part of the house, it has now opened to the general public as well.
It has been based on the Dutch reality show Big Brother which has a number of contestants or housemates live in a purpose-built house isolated from the rest of the world. Each week they nominate each other for eviction and the one who receives the maximum nominations face a public vote. Out of these, one leaves the house. However, mainly the show goes according to the Bigg Boss’ rules. In the final week, when three contestants are left, the audience votes for the winner. By the way, Bigg Boss is never seen on the show, only his voice is heard.
The house is built every season and was earlier located in Lonavala near Mumbai. For the fifth season, it was located in ND Studios in Karjat. It is fully furnished and decorated with modern amenities. There are only one or two rooms so everyone has to share and adjust with each other. There is a garden, pool, activity area and gym in the house. There is even a confession room where the Bigg Boss calls contestants to share their thoughts and have conversations with.
The house is completely cut off from the world and has no television, internet, telephone, clock, pen or paper.
The contestants aren’t allowed to converse in any language other than Hindi, aren’t supposed to sleep during the day, fiddle with electronic equipment and cannot leave the house premises any time except when they are instructed to.
All The Bigg Boss Hosts Over The Years
There have been a number of hosts in Bigg Boss and the showrunners have been experimenting with celebrities who can get the maximum TRPs for the show. In the first few seasons, the makers experimented with different hosts. Here’s a list:
Arshad Warsi
Arshad Warsi hosted the very first season of the show back in 2006. The ratings were average since it was an all-new concept for the Indian audiences.
Shilpa Shetty
Shilpa Shetty was called in to host the second season of the show and she made it a point to be neutral with all the contestants.
Amitabh Bachchan
After his smashing hit with Kaun Banega Cororepati, the producers of the show got Big B as the Bigg Boss host however it didn’t work in their favour. The show clocked in the lowest TRPs in the history of the show in 2009.
Salman Khan
This is when Bigg Boss hit the jackpot by bringing Salman Khan on board in 2010. It had the highest TRPs ever and the average viewership also went up from the last few seasons.
Sanjay Dutt
Season 5 saw Sanjay Dutt take over and the show’s TRPs skyrocketed on the first day but came crashing in the subsequent episodes. Sallu’s magic was missing, I guess.
Salman Khan
For season 6 and 7 Salman Khan was called back, however season 6 didn’t get as much viewership as season 4. They still continued with him because they banked on his popularity for the show to continue.
Farah Khan
The first 105 days of the 8th season were hosted by Sallu Bhai but when the TRPs weren’t very high, they introduced a new person as the Bigg Boss host- Farah Khan. This was the longest running season but despite the changes, it failed to break its earlier record.
Salman Khan
Since then the show Bigg Boss has become synonymous with Salman Khan. He has hosted all the seasons from 9 to 12 and is currently hosting the 13th one as well. In Season 10 the makers introduced the concept of having commoners in the house as contestants.
Bigg Boss Season 13
Going back to its original format, Bigg Boss Season 13 is an all-star season and has no commoners. The theme of the house is ‘Museum’ this time. Ameesha Patel has been introduced as the ‘Maalkin of the house’ who gives various tasks and assigns duties to the contestants. It premiered on 29th September and is airing every weekday from Monday to Friday at 10:30 PM. The house too has been shifted from Lonavala to Goregaon in Mumbai this season.
The contestants’ list for Season 13 is as follows:
Koena Mitra
The Apna Sapna Money Money actor is locked inside the Bigg Boss house and is playing the game for a cash prize. Koena Mitra is a model and has done a few item numbers in Bollywood too. She’s also the original Saki Saki girl!
Siddharth Shukla
Balika Vadhu fans, Siddharth Shukla is back on your screens to steal your hearts. He was also seen on Dil Se Dil Tak and acted alongside Alia Bhatt and Varun Dhawan in Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhaniya.
Devoleena Bhattacharya
Gopi Bahu is back on your screens (hopefully to not wash laptops this time.) She was one of the first ones to get signed.
Rashmi Desai
Uttran actor, Rashmi Desai has also made it to the Bigg Boss house. In fact, the actress has been made BFFs (Bed Friends Forever) with her rumoured ex and former co-star Siddharth Shukla.
Dalljeet Kaur
Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon and Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak actor, Dalljeet Kaur is also on the show.
Abu Malik
The younger brother of Anu Malik and Daboo Malik, Abu Malik is a dear friend of Salman and is a part of Bigg Boss season 13.
Paras Chabba
Paras won the fifth season of Splitsvilla and has been roped in to be on BB 13 to up the hottie factor.
Shefali Bagga
Famous anchor and journalist, Shefali Bagga is one of the contestants on the show and has already been named the ‘Villain of the season’.
Arti Singh
Arti Singh has acted in shows like Uttran and Waaris and is now on the thirteenth season of Bigg Boss.
Asim Riaz
He’s a popular model and has been a part of several ad films. He’s also the eye candy on the show!
Siddharth Dey
He is a scriptwriter and is the first one from his profession to enter the Bigg Boss house. He has written many reality shows including a few seasons of Bigg Boss.
Shenaaz Gill
Punjabi singer Shehnaaz Gill is there to add her punjabi kudi touch to the show. She’s sweet but also saucy when need be!
Who are you rooting for this season?!
Watch it here
So are you all caught up with the current season too or are you going to binge watch it now?
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