From putting dog poop into the big box task, to fisticuffing to abusing and insulting, Bigg Boss 7 contestants have become so controversial that even the show’s host Salman Khan was compelled to say that he didn’t want to be a part of the next season. SANGEETA YADAV brings you a report on all the muck flying hard and fast inside the Bigg House
Be it the I&B Ministry’s legal notice to Bigg Boss (BB) Saath 7 saying that the show’s content was unsuitable for unrestricted public exhibition, or the absurd mid-week eviction of yoga teacher Vivek Mishra or, for that matter, the public display of affection by housemates, BB has been attracting wrong vibes.
Armaan calling Andy a disgrace to Punjabis for being gay needled the lesbian and gay community and fuelled a debate on news channels. Actress and UN Human Rights Equality Champion Celina Jaitly tweeted her shock: “Disturbed by the immense homophobia on one of my favourite shows. BB has always had lGBT as contestants, the present housmate’s homophobia saddens me! I humbly request BB producers to reprimand the initiators of this homophobia and gay slurs.”
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Tanisha Mukherjee dropped the Golden Retriever Heaven’s poop on Sangram Singh during the big box task. Though the poop incident was not televised, the audience caught Sangram telling Sofia Hayat about it on BB live Feed. And, if this was not enough, Tanisha pushed Kushal Tandon for throwing trash on her. This sparked off a major fight not just inside the House but outside as well. Kushal called her a flop actress and a black mark on her family. He wanted action against Tanisha. When that didn’t happen, he tried to escape from the House.
Suresh Kumar, 45-year-old psychology professor with Delhi University and a regular viewer of BB, says this season is the worst of the lot and not something a family can watch. “When I go home after work, I prefer to spend time with my children. They love watching BB but the rubbish that is being shown is unsuitable for viewing. It is sending out a wrong message to youngsters,” Kumar says.
The debate over the ugly Tanisha-Kushal incident became a talkpoint in Bollywood as well. Sonakshi Sinha tweeted: “Sheeee ya! How these women in BB House talk so cheaply about another woman. Class dikha di Gauhar Kamya, Pratyusha aur Kaushal, wah! Hang in there @tanishaa003... You are better off than these bullies.”
Such was the hue and cry that Big Boss Salman Khan had to intervene. “Because of this episode (Tanisha-Kushal fight), this might be the last season for me. If you are thinking you can clean your image, it’s a misconception,” he said.
Salman’s stand was perceived as biased. A petition was filed at change.org demanding that he be removed as the host as he had taken sides by supporting Tanisha and Armaan. Around 3,000 people signed this petition online.
However, an unfazed Salman tweeted. “The choice is yours if you wanna watch BB or not. Sometimes people do get carried away in fights, everyone does and then they sort it out. You see an hour’s show, I see the whole deal. Guess some of you guys may not react when someone speaks to female members of your family or women in that manner. But I do and most of the men and women stand up against men who run them down. It’s a good show to learn how to be physically and mentally strong. The tasks go on for 48 hours and more without proper sleep or food. Halwa hai kya (Is it a cakewalkIJ),” he added.
But that was not enough to save the situation, especially when the producers and the channel are pegging the show’s success on raking controversy. New tasks have been introduced to ensure that the housemates continue to fight. In the luxury budget task Dekha An dekha, housemates were told to behave as if Andy was not in the House. Any action to the contrary would lead to a cut in the week’s budget.
Andy, on his part, used every trick to distract the housemates. From rubbishing Pratyusha and Kushal, to using Gauhar’s personal belongings to tease her, he did his best to enrage others. When the task ended, Guahar got angry with Andy. The situation went out of control when Kushal attacked Andy and caught him by the scruff of his collar.
The incident went viral on social networking sites with Bollywood PR guru Dale Bhagwager tweeting: “Andy is just disgusting.” Incidentally, Andy asked Gauhar, “your bra and panty are hanging outside so what are you wearingIJ”
Another tweet said: “I saw what happened in the #BB7 House. Andy is disgusting. I would have killed him with my bare hands if he had touched my girlfriend’s lingerie.”
Even actress Raveena Tandon reacted. “That’s not right! Arey yaar this show is like that. It pushes people’s boundaries but Andy shouldn’t have done that to Gauhar especially after calling her his sister”!
Faced with the outrage, the channel axed the episode from the website and muted all the conversations on live Feed. Kushal was made to leave the House and to everyone surprise, Gauhar walked out knowing fully well that the penalty of exiting the House would be Rs 50 lakh. She later returned. Meanwhile, thanks to the petition on change.org, Kushal is back in the house and is regarded as a strong contender to win the title.
Asif Azim who was recently evicted, feels that all housemates are basically good people who change due to the extreme stress of being in the House. “Whatever bad happens in the House, gets footage. There were so many good things that happened during my stay but that footage was never shown because the show thrives on controversy. In one task, we communicated with Heaven but nothing of that was aired. Good and bad things happen in the House. The channel and producers decide what is aired. People who are fodder for controversy stay in the House,” Asif says.
Everybody knows they are getting footage through fights. “I decided not to use bad language or lose my temper because I didn’t want to set the wrong example. So did Shilpa and Apurva both of whom were evicted,” Asif points out.
Though BB regular Delnaz is not following this season, she feels BB is a controversial show meant to reflect the best and worst of relationships. “It is the controversy that makes this show a hit. It’s not at all scripted. People use violence and love as weapons to get footage. It gives the audience a peep into the lives of the contestants. That’s what does business on and for the show,” Delnaz says.