It’s almost a “Bachna ae haseeno” moment in the “Bigg Boss” house this
season. Thirteen beauties from different walks of life entered the fifth
edition of the controversial reality show, with Bollywood villain
Shakti Kapoor in tow Sunday night. What will add “double dhamaal” is
hero Salman Khan and “khalnayak” Sanjay Dutt’s chemistry as the hosts.
The women contestants are an eclectic mix – controversial models, actresses, a wrestler, as well as a proud transgender.
The participants include – model Shraddha Sharma, who grabbed
headlines for her relationship with former “Bigg Boss” contestant Raja
Chaudhary; former Miss Afghanistan Vida Samadzai, who was banned in the
country for wearing a bikini; Nihita Biswas, wife of “Bikini Killer”
Charles Sobhraj and actress-singer Raageshwari, who has bounced back to
arc lights after battling serious health problems.
Other contestants include actresses VJ Pooja Missra, Pooja Bedi, Juhi
Parmar, model-actress and winner of Miss India International 2003
Shonali Nagrani, popular host Mandeep Bevli, and Rajasthani folk dancer
Gulabo Sapera. Actress Mahek Chahal, who is said to be a close friend of
Salman, has also joined the list.
If last year The Great Khali added muscle power to the show, this
year, woman wrestler Sonika Kaliraman will be seen throwing her weight
around. This is her second reality show after “Khatron Ke Khiladi”, and
she is now six months pregnant.
Transgender activist Laxmi Narayan Tripathi is a highlight on the
show. In the past seasons, cross dressers like Bobby Darling, designer
Rohit Verma and Pakistani cross-designer Begum Nawazish Ali have made an
appearance. But Tripathi, who is one of the country’s most visible LGBT
community representative, hopes to make a difference in the mindsets of
the general public about people of her kind.
The previous seasons saw a healthy balance between male and female
participants. But this season, it’s different. There’s plenty of bird
watching opportunity for the men, but for the female viewers, there’s no
eyecandy.
The only male – Shakti Kapoor, is over 50. In 2005, he was stuck in
controversy after a news channel aired tapes shot with hidden camera
showing the actor seeking sexual favours from a journalist disguised as a
Bollywood aspirant. The tapes also had Kapoor speaking about the
casting couch in Bollywood and naming several big actresses, directors
and producers.
It would be interesting to see if Shakti has some revelations to make on the show.
Isolated in one compact house situated in Karjat, with no
connectivity and communication with the outside world, and under 24X7
surveillance, one expects to see a lot of friction and backbiting –
which already began as soon as five lady contestants walked into the
“Bigg Boss 5″ house in the premiere episode.
Also with two star hosts – Salman and Sanjay, who are ready to give
contestants a “double vaat”, the show will hopefully live up to its
promise of being “bigger, bolder and louder”.