After the success of reality TV show Bigg Boss in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada, the show has come to Kerala at last. On June 24, the first season of Bigg Boss Malayalam premiered on Asianet with superstar Mohanlal as the host.
The show began with Mohanlal introducing the concept to the audience. Dressed in a suit, Mohanlal said that the show would have 16 contestants from different walks of life and that it would be interesting to see how they live under the same roof for 100 days. Mohanlal also added that the contestants would be required to speak in Malayalam always.
Having made his TV debut earlier this year with Lal Salam, Mohanlal looked at ease as the host on Bigg Boss. The star took the audience through the specially constructed Bigg Boss house where the contestants would spend the next several weeks together. Following this, the participants were introduced one by one.
Actor Shwetha Menon was the first to enter the house. The two of them had a warm exchange, with Mohanlal taking Shwetha to the house with a risqué comment that everyone could soon see her taking a bath in the swimming pool (?!).
Others participants are: TV actor Deepan Murali, comedian Jagathy’s daughter Sreelakshmi, TV actor Srinish Aravind, theatre and film actor Hima Shankar, actor-singer Aristo Suresh, activist Diya Sana who is known for the Kiss of Love and bare the breast campaigns, comedian Anoop Chandran, actor Aditi Rai, TV star and businessman Basheer Bashi, TV actor Manoj Varma, VJ and TV anchor Pearle Maaney, aspiring actor and model David John, actor Sabu, TV actor Archana Suseelan and prominent TV personality and anchor Ranjini Haridas.
Things in the house are already heating up. Anchor Ranjini Haridas, who was the last to enter the house, confronted Sabu about his comments on her in social media and asked him to apologise.
Meanwhile, there is a controversy brewing about Sabu’s inclusion in the house. It has emerged that a criminal complaint has been lodged against Sabu by a woman BJP member who accused him of writing a vulgar post about her on Facebook. The complaint was filed by Lasitha Palakkal and the Panur police have filed a case against Sabu under section 354 a of the IPC, and 120 of the KP Act. The police, however, claimed that they have not questioned or arrested him yet, since they are yet to verify if the Facebook account that posted offensive comments against Lasitha indeed belongs to Sabu.
Tamil Bigg Boss season 2 has also started. The first season had plenty of scandal and controversy on offer, making it one of the most watched shows on Tamil television. The participants of Malayalam Bigg Boss seem to have the potential to follow suit.