The fifth season of the controversial reality TV show Bigg Boss Malayalam will have its grand launch on Sunday, March 26. Sharing a topsy-turvy poster of the programme featuring actor-host Mohanlal, Disney Plus Hotstar Malayalam wrote, “Six more days until the Bigg Boss house turns upside down.” This show will be telecast on Asianet from 7 pm, besides being streamed round-the-clock on Disney Plus Hotstar.

Though the list of contestants in the latest season is yet to be announced, the poster mentions the presence of a “social media superstar.” It is speculated that this ‘star’ is Amala Shaji, an influencer popular for her dance and lip-sync videos. Fans who immediately dived into research found that certain numbers mentioned in the poster, such as “3.6M followers” and “1,544 posts”, align with Amala’s Instagram figures. Other rumoured contestants include TV actor Jishin Mohan and martial arts star Aniyan Mithun.

The theme for this season is ‘Battle of the Originals’, as established by Mohanlal in an earlier promo of the show. It is claimed that for the first time in the history of the reality show, non-celebrities will appear as contestants this season.

The last season of Bigg Boss Malayalam, though embroiled in several controversies as usual, was appreciated for its inclusion of the LGBTQIA+ community. Actor-dancer Dilsha Prasannan won the season 4 title, becoming the first woman to do so. Musician Muhammad Diligent Blesslee and social media influencer Riyas Salim emerged as the first and second runners-up respectively.