We are only hours away from the grand finale of Bigg Boss Season 16 where one of the top five contestants — Priyanka Chahar Chaudhury, Shiv Thakare, Archana Gautam, Shalin Bhanot and MC Stan — will wear the champion’s crown. Though Priyanka and Bigg Boss Marathi Season 2 winner Shiv are firm favourites, if the past seasons of the Colours TV reality show hosted by Salman Khan have taught us anything, it is that anything can happen till the last moment. We look back at the winners from the past 15 editions of Bigg Boss.
Rahul Roy - Bigg Boss Season 1
The Aashiqui actor became an overnight sensation after the film’s release in 1990 but none of his later films matched up to the success of his launch pad. Rahul got his mojo back as a participant in the first season of Bigg Boss in 2007, hosted by Arshad Warsi. Rahul went on to lift the winner’s trophy and took home a prize money of Rs 1 crore. As evident from his Instagram page, he makes frequent appearances at fashion events.
Ashutosh Kaushik - Bigg Boss Season 2
Just after winning MTV Roadies Season 5, Ashutosh Kaushik won the Shilpa Shetty-hosted Bigg Boss Season 2 in 2008 and Rs 1 crore in prize money. Known for his desi humour, Ashutosh is quite active on Instagram and is often spotted at events.
Vindu Dara Singh - Bigg Boss Season 3
Vindu Dara Singh, son of legendary wrestler-actor Dara Singh, won the Amitabh Bachchan-hosted Bigg Boss Season 3 in 2009 and bagged Rs 1 crore in prize money. Before the show, Vindu had played Hanuman in the TV show Jai Veer Hanuman. He is now often seen in trending Instagram reels with actor friends Mukesh Rishi and Raajan Modi.
Shweta Tiwari - Bigg Boss Season 4
Television’s favourite bahu Shweta Tiwari, who became a household name for playing Prerna in Ekta Kapoor’s hit daily soap Kasautii Zindagii Kay, wore the Bigg Boss Season 4 crown in 2011. She, too, took home Rs 1 crore as prize money. It was the first season hosted by Salman Khan and Shweta was the first woman to win the celebrity reality show. She was last seen in Main Hoon Aparajita on ZEE5.
Juhi Parmar - Bigg Boss Season 5
Another popular television actress, Juhi Parmar of Kumkum – Ek Pyara Sa Bandhan fame, followed through and took home the Bigg Boss Season 5 trophy along with Rs 1 crore in prize money. Juhi is now a popular content creator and vlogger with a huge following on social media. After her separation from actor-husband Sachin Shroff, the former TV actress is raising her daughter as a single mother.
Urvashi Dholakia - Bigg Boss Season 6
Urvashi Dholakia, who shot to fame in the negative role of Komolika in Kasautii Zindagii Kay, won Bigg Boss Season 6 and Rs 50 lakh in prize money. Urvashi now makes funny Instagram reels with her twin sons and is all set for her new show, Pushpa Impossible.
Gauahar Khan - Bigg Boss Season 7
The talented dancer-actress Gauahar Khan wore the Bigg Boss Season 7 crown in 2013 and bagged Rs 50 lakh in prize money. She got into a relationship with fellow contestant Kushal Tandon during the show. Later, Gauahar married music composer Ismail Darbar’s son Zaid — the couple are all set to welcome her first child soon. Gauahar will next host IRL - In Real Love, with Rannvijay Singh Singha, on Netflix.
Gautam Gulati - Bigg Boss Season 8
Pyaar Kii Ye Ek Kahaani and Diya Aur Baati Hum star Gautam Gulati lifted the Bigg Boss Season 8 trophy in 2014 and took home a cash prize of Rs 50 lakh. After that, the actor hosted MTV Big F and was seen in films such as Emraan Hashmi-starrer Azhar, Rajkummar Rao-Shruti Haasan-starrer Behen Hogi Teri and the web series Operation Cobra on Eros Now.
Prince Narula - Bigg Boss Season 9
Chandigarh’s Prince Narula stepped into Bigg Boss Season 9 in 2015 after winning MTV youth reality show Roadies Season 12 and Splitsvilla Season 8. He won the Bigg Boss trophy and also met his wife, Yuvika Chaudhary, on the show. The couple went on to win Nach Baliye Season 9. Prince was last seen in Alt Balaji’s Lock Upp Season 1 as a wild-card entry.
Manveer Gurjaar - Bigg Boss Season 10
For the first time in the history of Bigg Boss, Manveer Gurjaar, a non-celebrity, won the show and bagged Rs 50 lakh in prize money in 2016. Viewers liked Manveer, who hailed from Uttar Pradesh, for his simplicity and straightforward nature. After winning the reality show, he went back to farming and joined politics.
Shilpa Shinde - Bigg Boss Season 11
Popular TV star Shilpa Shinde, of Bhabhi Ji Ghar Par Hai! fame, won Bigg Boss Season 11 in 2017 and received 50 Rs lakh as prize money. She created quite a stir with her tiffs with fellow contestants TV actress Hina Khan and TV producer Vikas Gupta. She was last seen as a participant in Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 10 and featured in the web series Paurashpur.
Dipika Kakar - Bigg Boss Season 12
Dipika Kakar won the Bigg Boss Season 12 trophy in 2018 and collected Rs 30 lakh in prize money, defeating close contender and former cricketer S. Sreesanth. The Sasural Simar Ka actress is an active YouTuber along with co-actor and husband Shoaib Ibrahim. The couple are expecting their first child.
Sidharth Shukla - Bigg Boss Season 13
Popular TV hunk Sidharth Shukla’s chemistry with Shehnaaz Gill in Bigg Boss Season 13 was loved by the fans, with #SidNaaz becoming one of the most trending hashtags ever. Besides the winner’s trophy, Sidharth received Rs 40 lakh as prize money. After the 2019 show, the Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhaniya actor starred in web series Broken But Beautiful 3 and also featured in music videos before his sudden demise in September 2021.
Rubina Dilaik - Bigg Boss Season 14
Rubina Dilaik, the star of TV serials Chhoti Bahu and Shakti - Astitva Ke Ehsaas Ki, emerged as the winner of Bigg Boss Season 14 in 2020 and bagged Rs 36 lakh as prize money. Rubina walked into the show with actor-husband Abhinav Shukla. After her big win, she took part in Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi 12 and Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 10. Rubina also made her Hindi film debut with Ardh on ZEE5.
Tejasswi Prakash - Bigg Boss Season 15
Popular TV actress Tejasswi Prakash won Bigg Boss Season 15 and took home Rs 40 lakh in prize money, beating the show’s favourite model-actor Pratik Sehajpal. In the Bigg Boss house in 2020, she became close to TV star Karan Kundra and they started to date soon after.
