After the last dud season and declining TRP over the past two editions, Bigg Boss show makers had promised that Season 16 of the reality show will be an entertaining watch. Show host Salman Khan had admitted that his mother Salma Khan and Karan Johar’s mother Hiroo Johar had stopped watching the show, and the makers plan to win them back as show fans with this season. Bigg Boss 16, which has been airing on Colors TV and streaming on Voot from October 1, has had its share of hits and misses. Here, we take a look at the highlights of the ongoing season so far.
Abdu Rozik and his free hugs
Abdu is not only the darling of the Bigg Boss house but also Bigg Boss 16’s most popular contestant, as per media research firm Ormax Media. Besides entertaining the housemates with songs, he showers them all with frequent free hugs. He often enjoys imitating housemates and enacting funny fictional situations. The 19-year-old has picked up quite a few Hindi words from co-contestant Shiv Thakare (Bigg Boss Marathi Season 2 winner) and understands everything that goes around him. It’s wonderful to see him adapt to a never-seen-before setting, amid strangers, who speak a different native language.
Is Bigg Boss playing?
Since the first promo, followed by the trailer, and later at the launch, it was announced that in the new season, Bigg Boss himself (yes, the deep voice) will play the game. As an audience, we are yet to fathom how he is playing in the ongoing edition. He is more chatty than in the past seasons and gets involved in almost everything, but we don’t quite understand how he is paying. Bigg Bulletin with Shekhar Suman (where Sekhar roasts and plays games with contestants) and Bigg Buzz (where Krushna Abhishek interacts with the evicted contestant on Voot) are new segments of Bigg Boss 16.
Boring love stories
TV actors Shalin Bhanot and Tina Datta display a love angle, but other housemates have, time and again, raised questions about the ingenuity of the proximity. In a recent episode, Tina expresses that she has no motive to get associated with Shalin seriously, as it will only ruin her career and image outside the house. TV actor Gautam Sharma and dentist-turned-actor Soundarya Sharma also profess love for each other, but a section of the house and the Bigg Boss makers constantly believe that the duo is faking it. TV show Udaariyaan’s onscreen pair Ankit Gupta and Priyanka Chahar Choudhary, who entered the show together, give us vibes of a time-tested couple, but the duo tell the world that they are nothing more than ‘best friends’.
Is Bigg Boss biased?
This happens every season. This time, it seems the makers are a bit lenient towards film director Sajid Khan. Unlike other fellow contestants, Sajid doesn’t get warned when he mouths cuss words to fellow housemate Gori Nagodi or makes inappropriate gestures to Gautam. There have been moments where his uncontrollable rage shows up, but it never gets highlighted. Out of everyone, he is assigned the duty to be the translator for Abdu Rozik and eventually uses it to instigate him. Viewers point out that Sajid is hardly visible in the 24-hour live feed on Voot.
Secondly, the makers seem to have a liking for Meerut’s model-turned-politician Archana Gautam. She gets away despite picking up unnecessary fights and provoking others to get into an altercation. The motormouth brings the house down and insults other female contestants with harsh words about their personal backgrounds and family. And yet Bigg Boss makes her the captain and showers her with other privileges. In one of the recent episodes, she leaves Abdu in tears with her constant bullying. According to reports, it is rumoured that Archana has been asked to leave the show after she got into a tussle with Shiv Thakare during a task. However, there is no official confirmation from the channel.
TV actress Nimrit Kaur Ahluwalia takes part in a hunger strike, staged by a few other contestants, after having a meal. In the beginning, she becomes the first captain. Reason — She is the first contestant to enter the house. Bizarre, right?
No interesting task so far
It’s more than a month since the reality show is on air but the audience is yet to see an interesting task. So far, there have been a few tasks which were only assigned to a few contestants to create rifts or with the motive to change equations. We are yet to see tasks where the whole house gets involved. The makers may have toned down tasks requiring physical strength in order to avoid clashes — one of the reasons for the show’s dwindling popularity last year. The makers need to think of interesting tasks to keep the audience glued.
Kitchen politics
Every season so far, housemates have fought for food owing to a shortage of supply. But Bigg Boss 16 has been only about food. Most housemates talk, discuss and fight about weekly ration. Shalin Bhanot, who supposedly requires 150 grams of chicken in all his meals for ‘a medical condition’, irritates Bigg Boss and other housemates for his daily protein supply. Archana makes it a point to have a tiff with anyone working alongside her in the kitchen. All the action in this season revolves around food.
