On Saturday night, a million people across the country tuned in to watch the grand finale of Bigg Boss 8 on TV channel Colors.
The reality show, a spin-off of the original Dutch Big Brother , has proven to be hugely successful with Indian audiences over the past eight years.
With the show’s premise centred on a group of strangers thrown into a purpose-built house, cut off from the rest of the world, surviving the brutal eviction on a weekly basis, the programme is wired to entertain.
Alliances are struck, promises broken and conspiracies hatched at every step of the way. The programme, a platform for upcoming starlets to gain a pan-India audience, also facilitates the demolition of the pedestals they are otherwise propped on.
There seems to be nothing to keep like the voyeuristic thrill of watching TV personalities bay for blood, to keep audiences hooked, it appears.
Indira, a homemaker, says, “I’ve been watching Bigg Boss right from Season 1, and find the show very entertaining. I follow it religiously. In fact, dinner is always had while watching the show.”
However, 21-year-old Kratika Mehta says this time around, the show did not meet her expectations. “I watch Bigg Boss for the masala. But this season, it was not that much fun,” she says.
The final contest in the Bigg Boss house was between Gautam Gulati, Karishma Tanna, Preetam Singh, Dimpy Ganguly and Ali Quli Mirza. Gulati took home the trophy and cash prize of Rs. 50 lakh.