Bigg Boss is a reality TV series that has successfully aired eight seasons on Colors (Viacom) and is adapted from Endemol UK’s reality show Big Brother. The show features a group of contestants who live together in a house and are assigned various tasks and responsibilities to avoid elimination, all while being monitored by the all-seeing Bigg Boss and millions of viewers.

As the program progresses, one element of it becomes evident. Bigg Boss is more of a social experiment than a game show. Usually, contestants on Bigg Boss are from various fields such as artists, athletes, politicians, and different famous personalities. However, most of the participants are already acquainted with the unfeeling and unblinking gaze of the camera. 

Big Boss The Reality show 

The Indian reality show franchise, Bigg Boss, is derived from the Dutch reality show, Big Brother. The show is produced by Viacom18 and Disney Star through Endemol Shine India. The OTT platforms Voot and Disney+ Hotstar have made various versions of the show available globally. Bigg Boss was initially launched in Hindi and has now been expanded to include seven languages spoken in the Indian subcontinent, such as Kannada, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, and Malayalam.  

The Indian subcontinent has witnessed seven different language versions of the show. The first instalment of the franchise, Bigg Boss, aired on Sony TV in Hindi in 2006. Later, it shifted to Colors TV from the second season onwards. The franchise expanded its reach in 2013 with Colors Kannada and ETV Bangla, which was later rebranded as Colors Bangla. Star Vijay and Star Maa welcomed the show in Tamil and Telugu in 2017, respectively. Colors Marathi and Asianet marked the entry of the show in Marathi and Malayalam in 2018.

While the initial seasons only invited celebrities as housemates, the latest seasons of the Hindi, Kannada, Telugu, and Malayalam versions have also included members of the general public.  

History Of Big Boss  

Bigg Boss is the Hindi version of Big Brother, which was originally created by John de Mol Jr. in the Netherlands. The show is based on the Celebrity Big Brother model owned by the Endemol Shine Group. The first four seasons and seasons six to twelve were filmed in Lonavala, season five was filmed in Karjat, and season thirteen onwards were filmed in Goregaon. 

The show first aired on Sony TV in 2006, with Arshad Warsi as the host. However, after Shilpa Shetty won Big Brother 5, she replaced Warsi as the host in the second season of Bigg Boss. From the second season onwards, the show was broadcast on Viacom 18's Colors TV. Amitabh Bachchan hosted the third season, while Salman Khan hosted from the fourth season onwards. Sanjay Dutt co-hosted the fifth season with Salman Khan, and Farah Khan hosted the spin-off season of the eighth season in the absence of the main host Salman Khan.

Due to the show's popularity, it was expanded to other Indian languages. Endemol created Kannada and Bengali adaptations through ETV Network after the sixth season wrapped in 2013. Sudeep hosted the Kannada version, while Mithun Chakraborty and Jeet hosted the Bengali version. However, while the Kannada version continued with new seasons annually, the Bengali version only completed two seasons in six years and was not as successful.

In 2017, after completing ten seasons in Hindi, four seasons in Kannada, and two seasons in Bengali, Endemol Shine India extended its presence in South India by creating Tamil and Telugu versions of the show with Star India. Kamal Haasan hosted the Tamil version, while Jr NTR hosted the first season of the Telugu version. Nani replaced him as the host for the second season, and Nagarjuna became the host from the third season onwards. 

In 2018, the show was adapted into Marathi under Viacom 18 and hosted by Mahesh Manjrekar. The next language adaptation was Malayalam, produced by Star India and hosted by Mohanlal. In 2021, another version called Bigg Boss OTT was adopted. Its episodes were shown on Voot and hosted by Karan Johar. 

Approach To Promote New Culture 

Research has explored the possibility of applying game theory to reality television shows, but not yet to Bigg Boss. A study conducted in 2002, using episodes from the somewhat similar game show Survivor, discovered that there is an optimal size of alliance that can help a player achieve victory.

As the current season of Bigg Boss Double Trouble, 2015 groups all contestants into pairs, team dynamics will be of great importance. While most research has focused on TV shows with instant cash prizes such as Deal Or No Deal and The Weakest Link, social psychology research, regarding such interactions, tends to concentrate on the role of gossip and displays of power.

As Bigg Boss housemates usually encounter each other on a continual basis until they are evicted, communication plays a crucial role in enabling victory for any player. Gossip is likely the primary mode of communication in Bigg Boss.

In previous seasons, most conflicts between housemates arose from judgement-based conversations between other players. Every week, housemates vote to decide which housemate should be evicted from the Bigg Boss house, a task that requires coordination and clear communication to pull off. What if housemates are not well-coordinated and cannot be trusted? One of the key dynamics that may be influencing housemate behaviour is the constant conflict between self-interest and other-regarding behaviour.

While these should be the broad goals for any player in the Bigg Boss house and, we dare say, in broader life, some players enter the house with a pacifist attitude, refusing to be drawn into fights and gossip. Meanwhile, there are almost always a few players who are keen to disrupt the balance in the house, creating distrust and animosity within the house. 

Conclusion 

Lastly, in case of any unsuccessful attempts, highlighting your most prominent personal qualities can sway the viewers in your favour. Even if it's just for the sake of it, recognizing your potential stereotype before entering the premises the attention seeker/the athlete will provide you with a clear understanding of how to utilise your positive attributes. Keep in mind that amusing the audience is a guaranteed tactic to propel you towards success in Bigg Boss.

As the Bigg Boss contestants often come across each other regularly until their elimination, effective communication is vital for securing a win. In all probability, gossip serves as the primary means of communication within the Bigg Boss house.