Bigg Boss is a popular Indian Hindi-language reality television show of the Bigg Boss franchise in India that airs on Colors TV. It is based on the Dutch format of Big Brother, developed by Endemol. Since its premiere on November 3, 2006, the show has completed eighteen seasons and three OTT (Over-The-Top) seasons.[1] Throughout its run, Bigg Boss has seen a variety of hosts. The first season was hosted by Arshad Warsi, followed by Shilpa Shetty in the second season and Amitabh Bachchan in the third. Farah Khan led the Halla Bol season, while Sanjay Dutt co-hosted the fifth season with Salman Khan. Since season 4, Salman Khan has taken the helm as the show's primary host. As of now, a total of 329 contestants have participated in Bigg Boss. Out of these, 13 contestants have returned for other seasons, while 2 contestants played as proxy contestants and 4 contestants were not selected by the audience, preventing them from entering the house. As of season 17, Bigg Boss has aired a total of 1,864 episodes and currently, season 18 is on air.
| Bigg Boss | |
|---|---|
 Logo used for the 18th season with host Salman Khan | |
| Based on | Big Brother |
| Presented by |
|
| Voices of | Atul Kapoor |
| Narrated by | Vijay Vikram Singh |
| Country of origin | India |
| Original language | Hindi |
| No. of seasons | 18 |
| No. of episodes | 1,864 |
| Production | |
| Production locations |
|
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 60–90 minutes |
| Production company | Endemol India |
| Original release | |
| Network | Sony Entertainment Television (season 1) |
| Release | 3 November 2006 – 26 January 2007 |
| Network | Colors TV (season 2–present) |
| Release | 17 August 2008 – present |
| Related | |
| Bigg Boss OTT | |
Overview
Concept
Bigg Boss is a popular reality TV show inspired by the original Dutch Big Brother format created by John de Mol Jr.. In this competition, a group of contestants, referred to as "housemates", live together in a specially designed house, cut off from the outside world. Each week, these housemates nominate each other for eviction, and those with the highest nominations face a public vote. Ultimately, one housemate is "evicted" each week.
There are some unique elements to the eviction process. Besides public voting, housemates with special privileges, like the captain, may have the power to evict someone directly. Additionally, Bigg Boss has the authority to modify the eviction process as needed, sometimes introducing exceptions or twists.
The final week of the show, with three to six housemates left. During this time, the public votes for their favorite contestant, leading to the crowning of a winner.
While most participants are celebrities in Indian version, seasons 10, 11 and 12 saw an influx of commoners as housemates, bringing a new dynamic to the show. Notably, Manveer Gurjar, a commoner, emerged as the winner of Season 10.
The housemates' actions and interactions are monitored by the voice of Bigg Boss, a mysterious figure who represents the show's authority and enforces rules.[2]
House
The Bigg Boss house is a unique and carefully designed space that serves as the central setting for the popular reality show which is built for each season. Over the seasons, its location has varied, with the initial seasons situated in tourist-magnate hill station of Lonavala, Pune district of Maharashtra and later moving to ND Studios in Karjat, in Maharashtra's Raigad district for Season 5. From Season 13 onwards, the house has been established in Film City, Goregaon, Mumbai.[3][4]
The architecture of the house is contemporary and well-furnished, featuring a range of modern amenities to facilitate the daily lives of the housemates. Key areas include: Kitchen, Living Area, Bedroom (two in first three seasons while four in sixteenth season and three in seventeenth season), Bathrooms (two toilets, two bathrooms, two washrooms in bedroom, one washroom in jail, one washroom in garden area), Storeroom, Garden and Pool Area, Lounge Room, Activity Area, Medical Room, Smoking Room, Luggage Area, Dining Area, Jail, Gym and Balcony.
One notable aspect of the Bigg Boss house is the Confession Room, an essential feature where housemates can express their thoughts, feelings, strategy or any kind of conversation as Bigg Boss listens and talks with them. This is also where the nomination process occurs sometimes.[5]
To ensure the housemates remain disconnected from the outside world, the house is devoid of televisions, telephones, internet access, clocks, books, pens, or paper.[2]
Rules
While not all the rules have been explicitly communicated to the audience, several key ones are clearly established. Inmates are required to speak only in Hindi. Tampering with any electronic equipment or other items in the house is strictly prohibited. They may not leave the premises at any time without permission. Physical violence is completely forbidden. Discussing the nomination process with anyone is also not allowed. Housemates must remain awake until the lights go off, and they can only converse outside of the designated smoking area. Additionally, singing is not permitted within the house, nor can they write anything while inside.[6]
Occasionally, housemates may be nominated for various reasons, including being chosen by individuals with special privileges obtained through tasks, for breaking rules, or for other unspecified reasons. In serious cases, a contestant may face expulsion from the house.[7]
Airing
The main television coverage of the show consists of a daily highlights program and a weekly eviction show, typically aired on Saturday/Sunday and known as "Weekend Ka Vaar" or for Monday known as "Somvaar Ka Vaar". In Seasons 16 and 17, the weekend episodes moved to Friday/Saturday ("Shukravar Ka Vaar" and "Shanivar Ka Vaar"), all broadcast on Colors TV, while the first season aired on Sony TV.[8]
Each daily episode features key events from the previous day, while Saturday’s episodes focus primarily on the host's analysis of the housemates' performances and special tasks. Sunday’s episodes include a fun segment with guest appearances and the eviction of the housemates nominated that week. Notably, in Seasons 16 and 17, evictions took place on Saturdays instead of Sundays.
From Season 14 onward, "Bigg Boss" introduced a 24/7 Live Channel for Voot Select subscribers, and later for JioCinema Premium subscribers. This allowed viewers to enjoy direct engagement with the show’s happenings. Episodes were also aired 30 minutes earlier on Voot Select and JioCinema Premium until Season 17.
In Season 16, a new segment titled "Bigg Bulletin with Shekhar Suman" was introduced, airing on Sundays and hosted by Shekhar Suman. Season 17 saw the introduction of another segment, "Just Chill with Arbaaz & Sohail," hosted by Arbaaz Khan and Sohail Khan, also on Sundays. In Season 18, episodes included "Tandav Ka Overtime," extending the usual one-hour episode with additional content to cover the day's events. Season 18 also saw the launch of segment named "Haye Daiyaa With Ravi Bhaiyya Garda Udaa Denge," hosted by Season 1 finalist Ravi Kishan, again on Sundays.
Series details
| Series | Host | House Location | Episodes | Originally aired | Days | Housemates | Prize Money | Winner | Runner-up | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | Network | ||||||||||
| 1 | Arshad Warsi | Lonavala | 87 | 3 November 2006 | 26 January 2007 | Sony TV | 86 | 15 | ₹1 crore (US$120,000) | Rahul Roy | Carol Gracias | |
| 2 | Shilpa Shetty | 99 | 17 August 2008 | 22 November 2008 | Colors TV | 98 | 15 | ₹1 crore (US$120,000) | Ashutosh Kaushik | Raja Chaudhary | ||
| 3 | Amitabh Bachchan | 85 | 4 October 2009 | 26 December 2009 | 84 | 15 | ₹1 crore (US$120,000) | Vindu Dara Singh | Pravesh Rana | |||
| 4 | Salman Khan | 98 | 3 October 2010 | 8 January 2011 | 97 | 16 | ₹1 crore (US$120,000) | Shweta Tiwari | Dalip Singh Rana | |||
| 5 | Salman Khan Sanjay Dutt | Karjat | 97 | 2 October 2011 | 7 January 2012 | 98 | 18 | ₹1 crore (US$120,000) | Juhi Parmar | Mahek Chahal | ||
| 6 | Salman Khan | Lonavala | 96 | 7 October 2012 | 12 January 2013 | 97 | 19 | ₹50 lakh (US$60,000) | Urvashi Dholakia | Imam Siddique | ||
| 7 | 105 | 15 September 2013 | 28 December 2013 | 105 | 20 | ₹50 lakh (US$60,000) | Gauahar Khan | Tanishaa Mukerji | ||||
| 8 | 105 | 21 September 2014 | 3 January 2015 | 105 | 19 | N/A | Declared in Bigg Boss Halla Bol | Declared in Bigg Boss Halla Bol | ||||
| HB | Farah Khan | Lonavala | 27 | 4 January 2015 | 31 January 2015 | 28 | 10 | ₹25 lakh (US$30,000) | Gautam Gulati | Karishma Tanna | ||
| 9 | Salman Khan | 104 | 11 October 2015 | 23 January 2016 | 105 | 20 | ₹50 lakh (US$60,000) | Prince Narula | Rishabh Sinha | |||
| 10 | 105 | 16 October 2016 | 29 January 2017 | 106 | 18 | ₹50 lakh (US$60,000) | Manveer Gurjar | Bani J | ||||
| 11 | 106 | 1 October 2017 | 14 January 2018 | 106 | 19 | ₹44 lakh (US$53,000) | Shilpa Shinde | Hina Khan | ||||
| 12 | 107 | 16 September 2018 | 30 December 2018 | 105 | 20 | ₹30 lakh (US$36,000) | Dipika Kakar | S. Sreesanth | ||||
| 13 | Film City, Mumbai | 139 | 29 September 2019 | 15 February 2020 | 141 | 21 | ₹50 lakh (US$60,000) | Sidharth Shukla | Asim Riaz | |||
| 14 | 142 | 3 October 2020 | 21 February 2021 | 142 | 22 | ₹36 lakh (US$43,000) | Rubina Dilaik | Rahul Vaidya | ||||
| 15 | 121 | 2 October 2021 | 30 January 2022 | 120 | 24 | ₹40 lakh (US$48,000) | Tejasswi Prakash | Pratik Sehajpal | ||||
| 16 | 135 | 1 October 2022 | 12 February 2023 | 134 | 17 | ₹31.8 lakh (US$38,000) | MC Stan | Shiv Thakare | ||||
| 17 | 106 | 15 October 2023 | 28 January 2024 | 106 | 21 | ₹50 lakh (US$60,000) | Munawar Faruqui | Abhishek Kumar | ||||
| 18 | TBA | 6 October 2024 | TBA | TBA | 20 | ₹50 lakh (US$60,000) | TBA | TBA | ||||
Spin-off
The series also has a digital version of the show called Bigg Boss OTT . Started in 2021, the first season was hosted by Karan Johar and broadcast by Voot for 24×7 coverage. The OTT series has rolled out its third season in 2024, hosted by Anil Kapoor and broadcast by JioCinema for the 24x7 live feed.
Housemate pattern
Clique S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 HB S9 S10 S11 S12 S13 S14 S15 S16 S17 S18 Reality Show Alumni — Ashutosh Kaushik — Sakshi Pradhan Sidharth Bhardwaj Mink Brar Candy Brar Renee Dhyani Dimpy Ganguli Prince Narula Bani Judge Benafsha Soonawalla Kriti Verma Paras Chhabra Shehzad Deol Pratik Sehajpal Shiv Thakare Munawar Faruqui Digvijay Singh Rathee — — — — Pooja Misrra Vishal Karwal — Dimpy Ganguli — Priya Malik — Priyank Sharma Surbhi Rana — Naina Singh Simba Nagpal — Samarth Jurel Kashish Kapoor — — — — — — — — — Rishabh Sinha — — — — Manu Punjabi Miesha Iyer — — — LGBT Bobby Darling — Rohit Verma Begum Ali Laxmi Tripathi Imam Siddiqui Andy Kumar Sushant Divgikar — Kawaljit Singh — Vikas Gupta — — Vikas Gupta Rajiv Adatia — Navid Sole — — — — — — — Viveik Mishra — — — — Sabyasachi Satpathy — — — Nishant Bhat — — — Pageant Winner Aryan Vaid Diana Hayden Aditi Govitrikar — Shonali Nagrani — Gauahar Khan Sushant Divgikar — Rochelle Rao Lopamudra Raut Lucinda Nicholas — — — — Manya Singh Manasvi Mamgai Chum Darang — — — — Vida Samadzai — — — — — — — — — — — Archana Gautam — — On the Wrong Side of the Law — Monica Bedi — Davender Singh — Aseem Trivedi — — Rahul Mahajan Aman Verma Swami Om Zubair Khan — — Rahul Mahajan — — — Dr. Gunratan Sadavarte — Rahul Mahajan — Abbas Kazmi — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Item Girl Rakhi Sawant Sambhavna Seth Sherlyn Chopra Veena Malik Mahek Chahal Sana Khan Hazel Keech Natasa Stankovic Sambhavna Seth Nora Fatehi Antara Biswas Arshi Khan — Koena Mitra Rakhi Sawant Rakhi Sawant Gori Nagori — — — — — — — — Gauahar Khan — Mahek Chahal — — Sapna Chaudhary — Shefali Jariwala Arshi Khan — — — — — — — — — — — — Sana Khan — — — — — — — — — — International Star — Jade Goody Claudia Ciesla Begum Ali Sunny Leone — Elli Avram Natasa Stankovic — Mandana Karimi Jason Shah Lucinda Nicholas — — — — Abdu Rozik Navid Sole — — — — — — — Sofia Hayat — — — — — — — — — — Aoora Park — Seasoned Model Anupama Verma Zulfi Syed Pravesh Rana Anchal Kumar Shraddha Sharma Niketan Madhok Asif Azim Diandra Soares — Mandana Karimi Jason Shah Lucinda Nicholas — Asim Riaz Shehzad Deol Ieshaan Sehgal Manya Singh Soniya Bansal Chum Darang Carol Gracias Payal Rohatgi — Hrishant Goswami — Karishma Kotak — Sonali Raut — Gizele Thakral — — — Vishal Aditya Singh — Rajiv Adatia Soundarya Sharma Manasvi Mamgai Shilpa Shirodkar — — — — — — — Nigaar Khan — — — — — Arhaan Khan — Umar Riaz Archana Gautam Ayesha Khan — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Sahil Shroff — — — Soap star Amit Sadh Ketki Dave Bakhtiyar Irani Shweta Tiwari Juhi Parmar Urvashi Dholakia Pratyusha Banerjee Karishma Tanna Karishma Tanna Kishwer Merchant Karan Mehra Hina Khan Karanvir Bohra Sidharth Shukla Aly Goni Karan Kundrra Nimrit Kaur Ahluwalia Aishwarya Sharma Chahat Pandey Rupali Ganguly Rakhi Vijan Tannaz Irani Sara Khan Amar Upadhyay Sayantani Ghosh Kamya Panjabi Gautam Gulati Gautam Gulati Ankit Gera Gaurav Chopra Hiten Tejwani Dipika Kakar Devoleena Bhattacharjee Rubina Dilaik Tejasswi Prakash Priyanka Chahar Choudhary Neil Bhatt Shehzada Dhami — — — — Akashdeep Saigal Aashka Goradia Kushal Tandon Sukirti Kandpal — Digangana Suryavanshi Rohan Mehra Shilpa Shinde Srishty Rode Mahira Sharma Eijaz Khan Donal Bisht Ankit Gupta Ankita Lokhande Avinash Mishra — — — — — Rajev Paul Shilpa Saklani Praneet Bhat — Vikas Bhalla Sahil Anand — Neha Pendse Vishal Aditya Singh Nishant Singh Malkani Rashami Desai Gautam Vig Rinku Dhawan Nyra Banerjee — — — — — — Ratan Rajput Deepshikha Nagpal — Roopal Tyagi — — Rohit Suchanti Rashami Desai Kavita Kaushik Jay Bhanushali Shalin Bhanot Abhishek Kumar Muskan Bamne — — — — — — — Soni Singh — Suyyash Rai — — — Paras Chhabra Abhinav Shukla Vishal Kotian Sumbul Touqeer Isha Malviya Karan Veer Mehra — — — — — — — — — — — — — Dalljiet Kaur Jasmin Bhasin Vidhi Pandya Sreejita De Samarth Jurel Sara Arfeen Khan — — — — — — — — — — — — — Arti Singh Pavitra Punia Simba Nagpal Tina Datta Ayesha Khan Eisha Singh — — — — — — — — — — — — — Madhurima Tuli — Raqesh Bapat Vikkas Manaktala — Vivian Dsena — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Devoleena Bhattacharjee — — Alice Kaushik Film Star Ravi Kishan Payal Rohatgi Shamita Shetty Ashmit Patel Akashdeep Saigal Dinesh Lal Yadav Tanishaa Mukerji Sonali Raut Sambhavna Seth Rimi Sen Rahul Dev — Megha Dhade Khesari Lal Yadav Abhinav Shukla Jay Bhanushali Sumbul Touqeer Mannara Chopra Shilpa Shirodkar Deepak Tijori Raja Chaudhary Poonam Dhillon Samir Soni Shakti Kapoor Delnaaz Irani Armaan Kohli Aarya Babbar Ajaz Khan Aman Verma Antara Biswas — Jasleen Matharu Sidharth Shukla Sara Gurpal Shamita Shetty Sreejita De Ankita Lokhande Chum Darang Kashmira Shah Sambhavna Seth Vindu Dara Singh Dolly Bindra Pooja Bedi Sayantani Ghosh Apurva Agnihotri Upen Patel — Yuvika Chaudhary Elena Kazan — Neha Pendse Koena Mitra Kashmira Shah Sahil Shroff Tina Datta Manasvi Mamgai Hema Sharma Rahul Roy — — Rahul Bhatt Pooja Misrra Santosh Shukla Ajaz Khan Minissha Lamba — Vikas Bhalla Sahil Anand — — Himanshi Khurana Nikki Tamboli Karan Kundrra Archana Gautam Ayesha Khan — Deepak Parashar — — — — — — Puneet Issar — Keith Sequeira — — — Rashami Desai Sonali Phogat Raqesh Bapat Soundarya Sharma — — — — — — — — — — — Puneet Vashist — — — Madhurima Tuli — Rashami Desai — — — — — — — — — — — — Rishabh Sinha — — — — — — — — — Singer Baba Sehgal Debojit Saha Ismail Darbar Manoj Tiwari Raageshwari Loomba — — Ali Quli Mirza Ali Quli Mirza Arvind Vegda — Pooja Jain Anup Jalota Khesari Lal Yadav Rahul Vaidya Akasa Singh Abdu Rozik Firoza Khan — — — — — — — — — — Suyyash Rai — Akash Dadlani Deepak Thakur Shehnaaz Gill Jaan Kumar Sanu Afsana Khan MC Stan Aoora Park — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Abu Malik — Neha Bhasin — — — Sportsperson Salil Ankola — Vinod Kambli Dalip Singh Sonika Kaliraman Navjot Singh Sidhu Sangram Singh — — — — — Sreesanth Nair — — — — — — Comedian — Ahsaan Qureshi Raju Srivastav — — Vrajesh Hirjee Rajat Rawail — — — — — — Arti Singh — — Sajid Khan Munawar Faruqui Shrutika Politically Acclaimed — Sanjay Nirupam — Seema Parihar — Sampat Pal Devi — — — — — — — Tehseen Poonawala Sonali Phogat Abhijit Bichukale Archana Gautam — Tajinder Singh Bagga — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Chahat Pandey Dancer — — — — Gulabo Sapera — — — — — — Priyank Sharma Srishty Rode — — Nishant Bhat Gori Nagori — — TV Presenter — — — — Mandeep Bevli — Andy Kumar Pritam Singh Pritam Singh — — Benafsha Soonawalla — Shefali Bagga Shardul Pandit Jay Bhanushali Sajid Khan Jigna Vora Sara Arfeen Khan — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Karan Kundrra — — — Fashion Designer — — — — — Sapna Bhavnani — Diandra Soares — Kawaljit Singh — — — — — — — — — YouTube Sensation — — — — — — — — — — — Pooja Jain — Vikas Pathak — — — Munawar Faruqui Rajat Dalal — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Anurag Dobhal Hema Sharma — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Sunny Arya — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Arun Srikanth Mashettey — Writer — — — — — — — — — — — Vikas Gupta — Siddhartha Dey — — — — — Life & Mind Coach — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Arfeen Khan Radio Jockey — — — — — — — Pritam Singh Pritam Singh — — — — — Shardul Pandit — — — — Non-Celebrity Ragini Shetty Alina Wadiwala Kamaal Rashid Khan — Nihita Biswas Kashif Qureshi Anita Advani — — — Swami Om Akash Dadlani Sourabh Patel — — Ritesh Kumar — Sana Raees Khan — — — Jaya Sawant — — — — — — — Manveer Gurjar Arshi Khan Shivashish Mishra — — — — Vicky Jain — — — — — — — — — — — Nitibha Kaul Bandagi Kalra Somi Khan — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Lokesh Sharma Jyoti Kumari Nirmal Singh — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Akanksha Sharma Puneesh Sharma Saba Khan — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Manu Punjabi Luv Tyagi Romil Chaudhary — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Priyanka Jagga Sabyasachi Satpathy Deepak Thakur — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Navin Prakash Sshivani Durga Urvashi Vani — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Zubair Khan Roshmi Banik — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Mehjabi Siddiqui Mital Joshi — — — — — — Winner Runner-up Finalist Winner Rahul Roy Ashutosh Kaushik Vindu Dara Singh Shweta Tiwari Juhi Parmar Urvashi Dholakia Gauahar Khan Gautam Gulati Prince Narula Manveer Gurjar Shilpa Shinde Dipika Kakar Sidharth Shukla Rubina Dilaik Tejasswi Prakash MC Stan Munawar Faruqui Runner-up Carol Gracias Raja Chaudhary Pravesh Rana The Great Khali Mahek Chahal Imam Siddiqui Tanishaa Mukerji Karishma Tanna Rishabh Sinha Bani Judge Hina Khan Sreesanth Asim Riaz Rahul Vaidya Pratik Sehajpal Shiv Thakare Abhishek Kumar
Controversies
Other media
References
- ^ "Bigg Boss 15 promo: Watch Salman Khan with speaking tree voiced by the evergreen actress Rekha". The Times of India. 21 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
- ^ a b "Bigg Boss".
- ^ "What the Bigg Boss house is going to be like this season". Rediff.com Movies. 30 September 2011. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
- ^ "Shweta gets b'day surprise on Bigg Boss". MiD DAY. 5 October 2010. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
- ^ Rajul Hegde (8 October 2009). "What really goes on in Bigg Boss house?". Rediff. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
- ^ Malvika Nanda (9 October 2010). "Lights or not, camera, action". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 30 November 2010. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
- ^ "Bigg Boss casts out violent Khan". Daily News and Analysis. 22 October 2009. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
- ^ "Next Bigg Boss on a new channel?". Hindustan Times. 25 January 2014.
- ^ "Bigg Boss 4". phoneky.com. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
External links
- "Bigg Boss" at IMDb