Bigg Boss 12: What's this season of popular reality show missing? Former contestants weigh in

From Shilpa Shinde-Vikas Gupta’s controversial past, to the shenanigans of the famous trio comprising Hina Khan, Luv Tyagi, Priyank Sharma, to the romance of Bandgi Kalra and Puneesh Sharma, the previous season of Bigg Boss grabbed a lot of eyeballs and huge TRP ratings throughout its run. The same cannot be said about the current edition of the reality show which is nearing its end.

Going by its ratings, Bigg Boss season 12 hasn’t been able to deliver a sufficient dose of entertainment, driving some of the most ardent fans away from the reality show. The only contestant who has stood out in the ongoing season is former cricketer Sreesanth, essentially because of his tantrums and his frequent empty threats of packing his bags and leaving the house. While the show began with a bang and was among the top 10 most viewed shows in the country, it slipped to 15 and at times, it couldn’t even make it to top 20.

One of the reasons for low viewership could be repetitive tasks and “unimaginative” housemates who have probably watched the previous seasons and mugged up the former participants’ guide to winning the show. Shilpa Shinde, actress and winner of Bigg Boss 11, says, “Perhaps people could connect with us immediately. We didn’t play too many games, or compete with each other on every little thing. The beginning of our season, day 1 in fact, was quite eventful. The makers had done great research in getting some crazy contestants on board.”

Adds Arshi Khan, season 11 contestant and one of the ‘most searched’ entertainers during the show telecast, “I think season 12 is very boring. I watched a few episodes in the beginning but then I stopped. They are copying contestants from the previous seasons, and people don’t watch what they have already seen. The choice of commoners is bad. Also, celebrities are not very famous this time.”

Speculating on what went wrong in this season, Bigg Boss 10 finalist and commoner Manu Punjabi said, “Commoners may have created a fake personality to get through the auditions but they have shown their true selves inside the house. They don’t have the spark or the energy. The makers are pushing us to believe that Romil (Chaudhary) and Deepak (Thakur) are the brighter ones. Deepak seems to have lapped up all the seasons pretty well. Romil has been struggling to do a reality show for the last five years, and he, too, looks so well prepared and researched. Rohit has understood that if he harasses and pokes people, he will stay in the game. So everything looks very predictable. The first two seasons with the commoners were so good. Akash and Arshi would make a lot of efforts to make the show entertaining.”

Sambhavna Seth, another popular ex-contestant from the second season says, “Bigg Boss is meant to be played with heart. The way we played, we wouldn’t strategise or plan. We would forget that there were so many cameras capturing us but these guys seem to be conscious about the cameras even while they are sleeping, and they sleep with their make up on. That X-factor is missing among the contestants. Karanvir is a nice guy and Dipika comes across as a nice person but when it comes to giving content and masala, there is none. Whether good or bad, there has to be some character in you. Now because others are not doing anything, people like Romil have become the mastermind."

Task performances aside, every year, there is one contestant who sulks in a corner, begging Bigg Boss to take him/her out of the show. This year, that contestant is Sreesanth. Initially, after every fight, he would ask to be taken out of the show. We saw Vikas Gupta doing something similar in the previous season after his fights with co-contestant Shilpa Shinde, whom he reportedly fired from Bhabi Ji Ghar Par Hain. She would keep instigating him; he would break down and request Bigg Boss to get him out of the house. This is similar to what Surbhi Rana is doing with Sreesanth. But Vikas at least strategised and participated in the tasks wholeheartedly, unlike Sreesanth.

This brings us to the ‘master mind’ of the previous season, Vikas Gupta, who feels that the lack of relationships could have led to disinterest among the viewers in the present season. “The only one relationship that has stayed is between Sreesanth and Dipika, which is nice, because to have an unconditional support system in this kind of a show and environment is very difficult. But in the last season there was lot of it and that made it more watchable, whether it was between Hina and Luv, or Puneesh and Akash, or Arshi and me, or the cat and mouse relationship I had with Shilpa,” he says. “The only thing that stands out in this season is the ‘happy club’ formed by the commoners and the friendship between Sreesanth and Dipika. Also, no character has particularly stood out in this season."

While some feel Sreesanth is the only contestant to have grabbed attention in the present season, there are many who don’t agree. “I just don’t understand why Sreesanth is being appreciated when he is just acting stupid. He looks to his left and right before running towards the gate of the Bigg Boss house to see if his sister (Dipika Kakkar) is there to stop him from running away. He has no idea how to play the game and he is resorting to antics.”

However, Shilpa Shinde and former contestant Kamya Punjabi feel Sreesanth is the only good part of the present season. “If Sreesanth is making the show revolve around him, it is because the others are letting him. He deserves attention. Like what Salman said, ‘Love him, hate him, but you can’t ignore him,’” adds Kamya, who also feels this season is short on entertainment. “At times, we see the same thing happen every day. Initially, I felt Deepak was entertaining but then he got irritating.”

This season is also one of those rare editions where romance is missing. Anup Jalota and Jasleen Matharu’s romance was anything but romantic. Whereas, ever since the show was first broadcast, in 2006, viewers have stood witness to a number of affairs with some even finding their soulmates inside the house. For instance, Prince Narula and Yuvika Chaudhary (who got married recently), and Bandgi Kalra and Puneesh Sharma from the previous season. “They have not been able to establish an affair with the 9pm slot. Rohit was sent inside to fill that gap but it didn’t work out and they keep falling back upon Somi (Khan) and Deepak. Whichever celebrity enters the house on weekends, pushes Somi and Deepak for an act together, but how can this pair come together?” As it is clear from her actions, Somi feels uncomfortable in the situation and she has even told Deepak that she wouldn’t like this so called link-up to be continued even if it was all in fun and the game.

This is the third season wherein commoners go against celebrities - two contrasting worlds competing under the same roof with former expected to be uninhibited in their approach while the latter being image conscious. “Celebrities have an image and they are a bit careful in what they say or do. But, the makers don’t take nice, simple people. It’s only the controversial people who are chosen for a reality show. I would be friendly with my friends and show animosity with my enemies. I showcased love, anger and all my other emotions, which are very natural. There has to be some aggression, you react on certain matters…but if you don’t do anything, you don’t get involved and keep aloof, then you will only have money in your bank and nothing else. It will be clear that you are doing only naatak. It is a reality show and once the contestants are sent inside the house, nothing is in the hands of the makers. It completely depends upon the contestants to make the show run. Therefore, only Sreesanth is working for me,” said Shilpa.

Elaborating further, she said, “I saw Dipika’s aggression over the saiyyan-bhaiyya act of Romil and Srishty during a task when Farah Khan had gone inside the house. It didn’t make any sense to me. Had she shown that aggression from the beginning, I would have been convinced about her personality. But it looked like she just wanted to take up an issue unnecessarily.” Commenting on the non-performance of celebrities, Manu sums up the situation saying, “Karanvir (Bohra) has been in the industry for so long but he is playing the game as per Surbhi’s instructions. Also, he is poking Deepak on how to go about the game. As for, Dipika, she won’t make any mistake even if she is left in the house for a 1000 days. If they didn’t want to show their true personality then why did they come on a reality show?”

In the quest of winning the game, you are bound to bump into fake characters. But, in this image-conscious world, who is putting out a real life story devoid of any gloss?