Bigg Boss (Malayalam TV series)

Last updated

Bigg Boss
Bigg Boss Malayalam poster 3.jpg
Show's Seventh Season Logo with host Mohanlal
Presented by Mohanlal
Country of originIndia
Original languageMalayalam
No. of seasons7
No. of episodes569
Production
Production location
Camera setup Multi-camera
Production company Endemol India
Original release
Network Asianet
Release24 June 2018 (2018-06-24) 
present
Related
Bigg Boss
Big Brother
Malayalee House

Bigg Boss, a Malayalam-language television reality show in India, is part of the Bigg Boss franchise produced by Endemol Shine India (owned by Banijay). It airs on Asianet and streams on JioHotstar. It is based on the Dutch reality show Big Brother . Launched as part of Asianet's 25th-anniversary celebrations, the show has been hosted by Mohanlal since its inception. [1] From Season 5 onwards, commoners selected from the public are also been featured as contestants. [2]

Contents

Overview

The 'Bigg Boss' house

A bespoke Bigg Boss house is constructed for each season. For the initial season, the house was situated in Lonavala, Maharashtra, where the Hindi version of Bigg Boss typically takes place. Anticipating scheduling conflicts with other regional language editions, the house for seasons 2, 3, and 6 was established at EVP Film City in Chennai. For the 4th and 5th seasons, the house was located at Goregaon Film City. Following the conclusion of a season, the house is either retained for the next season and opened to the public as an attraction or completely dismantled. The seventh season introduced a new house built exclusively for the Malayalam version, thereby establishing a permanent location in Chennai. [3] [4]

The house is meticulously furnished and decorated, featuring modern amenities and a spacious, communal bedroom accommodating all contestants. Commencing in the sixth season, a sumptuous private suite was added for the house captain and the newly implemented power team. The house also includes shared toiletries, a swimming pool, a gymnasium, and expansive gardens. Additionally, show-specific activity areas and a soundproof room with controlled access, known as the "confession room," are constructed within the house. In this room, housemates are summoned by Bigg Boss for nomination procedures and other interactive activities. Starting with season 4, a secret room equipped with a bed and other facilities was incorporated into the house. Selected evicted contestants might be retained in this room for a week or two before being reintroduced to the game.

The house is intentionally isolated from external influences, lacking television access (except for interactions with the show host, Mohanlal), telephones, internet connectivity, clocks, and writing materials, adhering to the global Big Brother franchise guidelines.

Rules

While the complete ruleset has not been publicly disclosed, certain key regulations are evident. All housemates are required to communicate exclusively in Malayalam, with minimal English usage permitted. The house property, including electronic equipment and furnishings, must be treated with care and preserved in its original condition. Housemates are not allowed to leave the house premises without explicit permission. Daytime sleep is prohibited, and contestants are only permitted to rest when the house lights are extinguished at night. Alcohol is strictly forbidden, and housemates with smoking habits may only indulge in this activity within designated smoking areas. Physical aggression towards fellow housemates is strictly prohibited, and any violations of this rule will result in immediate elimination from the competition.

Nomination

Nominations are a mandatory procedure typically conducted on the first day of the week. All housemates are required to participate unless otherwise instructed by Bigg Boss. Each housemate must nominate two other housemates for eviction. Housemates receiving the highest number of nomination votes will be placed on the nomination list for that week and face public voting via Disney+ Hotstar. On the weekend episode, the contestant with the lowest public votes will be evicted from the house. Additionally, the week's captain may directly nominate a housemate for eviction, or Bigg Boss may nominate a housemate for other reasons. Sometimes, the housemates may be nominated for other reasons, such as nomination by a person who has achieved special privileges (via tasks or other things), for breaking rules, or something else. If something very serious happens, a contestant may be evicted immediately. Housemates who have been granted immunity cannot be nominated by other contestants. Immunity is automatically bestowed upon the week's captain and can be earned by contestants through successful completion of specific tasks or secret missions assigned by Bigg Boss. In certain circumstances, the captain may make a contestant immune from nomination at Bigg Boss's discretion. Housemates are strictly prohibited from discussing nominations or the nomination process with one another.

House captaincy

A captain is appointed each week by Bigg Boss through designated tasks or elected by the housemates. The captain enjoys enhanced privileges, including immunity from nomination for the week, exemption from task participation. During their captaincy week, the captain is exempt from the nomination process and possesses the authority to either nominate a housemate directly, grant immunity to a housemate, or rescue a nominated housemate, contingent upon Bigg Boss's directives. The captain's primary responsibility is to oversee the weekly task, ensuring that the conditions and stipulations are adhered to and the task is executed effectively to secure the 'luxury budget' for the following week. Additionally, captains are expected to monitor adherence to house rules and may impose penalties on housemates who violate these regulations.

Broadcast

Bigg Boss Malayalam is aired on Asianet channel since its first season. Each weekday episode provides a recap of the previous day's events within the house. On weekends (Saturday and Sunday), the show features a comprehensive discussion between the host, Mohanlal, and the housemates, reviewing the week's highlights and culminating in a discussion about the upcoming elimination. Since Season 4, Bigg Boss has been available for live streaming on Disney+ Hotstar through a subscription. Additionally, viewers can stream episodes and participate in contestant elimination voting via the Disney+ Hotstar app.

Series overview

SeriesHostLocation(s)EpisodesOriginally releasedHousematesDaysPrize MoneyWinnerRunner up
First releasedLast releasedNetwork
1 Mohanlal Lonavala 9924 June 2018 (2018-06-24)30 September 2018 (2018-09-30) Asianet & JioHotstar 18981 crore (US$120,000) Sabumon Abdusamad Pearle Maaney
2 Chennai 765 January 2020 (2020-01-05)20 March 2020 (2020-03-20)2375NACancelled due to COVID-19 Cancelled due to COVID-19
3 9714 February 2021 (2021-02-14)20 May 2021 (2021-05-20)
1 August 2021 (2021-08-01)
189675 lakh (US$89,000) Manikuttan Sai Vishnu
4 Mumbai 9927 March 2022 (2022-03-27)3 July 2022 (2022-07-03)209850 lakh (US$59,000) Dilsha Prasannan Muhammad Diligent Blesslee
5 9926 March 2023 (2023-03-26)2 July 2023 (2023-07-02)219850 lakh (US$59,000) Akhil Marar Reneesha Rahiman
6 Chennai 9910 March 2024 (2024-03-10)16 June 2024259850 lakh (US$59,000) Jinto Bodycraft Arjun Syam Gopan
7 993 August 2025 (2025-08-03)9 November 2025259842.55 lakh (US$50,000) Anumol RS Aneesh Tharayil

  Male Winners   Female Winners

Housemate pattern

Clique Season 1 Season 2 Season 3 Season 4 Season 5 Season 6 Season 7
Film Actor/ActressAditi Rai Rajini Chandy Manikuttan Akhil KuttyAiswarya Suresh Ansiba Hassan Appani Sarath
Anoop Chandran Saju Navodaya Michelle Ann Daniel Dhanya Mary Varghese Angeline MariyaGabri JoseAryan Kathuria
Hima Shankar Thesni Khan Noby Marcose Lakshmi Priya Maneesha K SSreerekha RajagopalRanjeet Munshi
Sabumon Abdusamad Veena NairRemya PanickerVinay Madhav RSagar Surya Suresh Menon Ved Lakshmi
Shweta Menon Sooraj Thelakkad Sruthi Lakshmi Yamuna Rani
Sreelakshmi Sreekumar
TV Actor/Actress Archana Suseelan Manju Pathrose Anoop Krishnan Naveen Arakkal Anu Joseph Apsara RathnakaranAnumol RS
Deepan Murali Pradeep Chandran Sajna Firoz Ronson Vincent Reneesha RehmanRishi S KumarDr. Binny Sebastian
Srinish Aravind Suchithra Nair Shiju Abdul Rasheed Sreethu Krishnan Jishin Mohan
Saranya AnandKalabhavan Sariga PG
Shanavas Shanu
Shaitya Santhosh
LGBTQIA+Anjali AmeerAparna MulberryNadira MehrinJaanmoni DasAdhila Nasarin
Ashwin VijayAbhishek JayadeepNoora Fathima
Jasmin M Moosa
Director Suresh Krishnan Akhil Marar
Omar Lulu
ModelDavid JohnAlasandra JohnsonAngel ThomasDaisy DavidCerena Ann JohnsonArjun Shyam Gizele Thakral
Shiyas KareemPavan Gino ThomasSai VishnuNimisha P SVishnu Joshi
Reshma RajanSoorya MenonJanaki Sudheer
Sujo Mathew
TV host Pearle Maaney Alina PadikkalFiroz KhanShalini NairAnjuz RoshPooja KrishnanAnwara Sultana (Mastani)
Ranjini Haridas Arya Rohit Sarika K B
Radio JockeyRaghu SubashFiroz AzeezRJ Bincy
Sooraj Doha
Singer/Musician Aristo Suresh Abhirami Suresh Lekshmi JayanMohammed Diligent BlessleeRinosh GeorgeRatheesh KumarAkbar Khan
Amritha Suresh Rithu ManthraSibin Benjamin
Pareekutty Perumbavoor
Somadas Haridasan
DancerRamzan MuhammedDilsha Prasannan
Sandhya Manoj
Fashion DesignerNevin Cappresious
Social ActivistDiya SanaDaya AshwathyAdoney John
Jazla Madassery
Rajith Kumar
Dubbing Artist Bhagyalakshmi
Internet CelebrityBasheer BashiFukru (Krishna Jeev)Dimpal BhalRiyas SalimHanan HameedJasmin JaffarRenu Sudhi
Manikandan ThonnakkalJunaiz VPNorah MuskanOneal Sabu
Robin RadhakrishnanSreedevi MenonSai KrishnaPraveen
Sijo JohnRena Fathima
Abhilash
Akash (Sabuman)
Athlete Majiziya Bhanu Aniyan MidhunAsi Rocky
Jinto Bodycraft
EntrepreneurManoj K VermaSobha ViswanathAbhishek Sreekumar
CommonerGopika GopiNandana SAneesh Tharayil
Nishana N
Resmin Bai
Total18221820212525
Winner Sabumon Abdusamad Cancelled [5] Manikuttan Dilsha PrasannanAkhil MararJinto BodycraftAnumol RS
Runner-up Pearle Maaney Sai VishnuMohammed Diligent BlessleeReneesha RehmanArjun Syam GopanAneesh Tharayil
  Winner  Runner-up  Finalist/ Top five  Sent home

Controversies

Season 2

Second season contestant Rajith Kumar ejected from the show after attacking co-contestant Reshma by applying Chilli paste in her eyes during a task. This led to fans of Kumar posting on social media, defending him. [6]

Season 3

On Day 58, Wildcard entrants Sajina and Firoz Khan were expelled from the show for making inappropriate statements about women to engaging in ugly fights. [7]

Season 4

Fourth season contestant Dr Robin Radhakrishnan got expelled from the show after assaulting inmate Riyas. [8]

Season 5

Season 6

Season 7

Shanavas’s Remarks About Contestants’ Dressing

The contestant Shanavas Shanu drew significant backlash for his comments about the clothing choices of fellow housemate Gizele Thakral.

Shanavas publicly advised Gizele to “dress modestly,” claiming that presenting herself in a more conservative manner would help her win love and votes from the Malayali audience. [15]

He also faced criticism for making covertly judgmental remarks, which many interpreted as slut-shaming. Netizens called him out for patriarchal attitudes, with some labeling him a “kulapurushan” (translated roughly as “caste or moral guardian”).The remarks triggered a significant debate about gender norms, body autonomy, and conservative values being imposed on women within the premises of a reality show. [16]

Homophobic Remarks Against Adhila and Noora

The wildcard entrants Lakshmi and Mastani faced strong public backlash for making discriminatory remarks about contestants Adhila and Noora, who are a same-sex couple.

Lakshmi, during a weekly task, made comments perceived as derogatory towards the couple’s sexuality. The situation escalated further when her mother, during an interaction featured on the show, made additional remarks that viewers considered homophobic. [17]

Shortly afterward, fellow wildcard entrant Mastani made similar statements, accusing the couple of "normalizing LGBTQ culture" and expressing openly hostile views toward their relationship. [18]

Host Mohanlal addressed the issue on air and strongly condemned the remarks, stating that discriminatory or demeaning comments towards any community were unacceptable. [18]

Allegations of Paid PR Campaigns and Vote Manipulation

Several media reports claimed that several contestants relied on paid public relations (PR) teams to influence public perception and online voting. It is reported that PR agencies allegedly offered services such as automated fake voting using old Android devices, trend manipulation, and large-scale online campaigning for significant fees. [19]

Former PR workers cited in the report claimed that vote-boosting packages costing several lakhs were openly sold, raising questions about the fairness of the competition and the authenticity of viewer voting. [19]

Statements from Former Contestants

Evicted contestant Jishin Mohan alleged that rival PR teams used vote-splitting tactics to push him into eviction. Earlier season winner Sabumon Abdusamad stated that he won Season 1 without PR assistance, pointing out how drastically the landscape had changed. Former contestant Diya Sana also remarked that heavy PR involvement increased significantly from Season 2 onward. [19]

PR Payment Admission by Season 7 Winner

Season 7 winner Anumol publicly confirmed that she paid an advance amount to a PR team, while denying claims of spending higher figures. She stated that PR support had become common among contestants, and maintained that her package was comparatively minimal. [19]

Ethical and Fairness Concerns

The widespread use of paid PR services led to criticism that contestants with greater financial backing gained an unfair advantage. Critics argued that this trend distorted the nature of the show, shifting the outcome from viewer-driven results to financially driven influence. [19]

Additional Allegations Involving Contestants

Season 7 contestant Aneesh was reported to have sold agricultural property to finance PR operations. Other contestants in previous seasons have also claimed manipulation of voting and eviction processes, though such allegations remain unverified. [19]

Reception

Bigg Boss Malayalam – Season-wise Reception
SeasonYearPremiere TRPFinale TRPAverage Weekly TRPOTT Watch TimeNotes
1201810.33 TVR15.0 TVR~7.5 TVR [20]
2202011.3 TVRCancelled due to COVID-19 ~8.0 TVR
32021~11 TVR17.41 TVR~7.5—8.5 TVR [20]
4202210.14 TVR15.19 TVR6.3–9.27 TVR [21]
5202311.72 TVR13.97 TVR5.17–7.17 TVR [22]
6202411.00 TVR18.00 TVR8.00–10.51 TVRSecond Most watched season [23]
7202515.3 TVR22 (SD+HD)
18.77 TVR
12.5 TVR136 Million hoursMost-watched season. [24]

Awards

An academic Television studies article about Big Boss Malayalam reality show, 'Malayalikalude Bigboss Jeevitham' written by Sajith M.S. published on Madhyamam Weekly won Kerala State Television Awards 2022 for Best Television Article. [25] [26]

References

  1. "Bigg Boss Malayalam: Mohanlal is super excited to host the show". The Times of India. 16 May 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2011.
  2. "Bigg Boss Malayalam 5 to welcome a commoner for the first time". The Times of India. 23 January 2023.
  3. "Bigg Boss Malayalam Season 7: ബിഗ് ബോസിന് ചെന്നൈയിൽ പുതിയ വീട്". Indian Express Malayalam. 9 April 2025.
  4. "Bigg Boss Malayalam Season 7: ബിഗ് ബോസ് ലോഗോയും പ്രൊമോയും ഈസ്റ്റർ ദിനത്തിൽ എത്തുമോ?". Indian Express Malayalam. 20 April 2025.
  5. "Coronavirus: Bigg Boss Malayalam season 2 to be called off". The Week. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  6. "Misogynist Rajith Kumar Kicked Off Bigg Boss For Attacking Co-Contestant". Huffpost. 16 March 2020.
  7. "Firoz And Sajna ejected from the show". Times of India .
  8. "Robin Radhakrishnan ousted from the show; says, 'This season is not mine". The Times Of India . 5 June 2022.
  9. "From lifting his Dhoti in front of inmates to boasting about beating his wife: Times when Bigg Boss Malayalam 5 contestant Akhil Marar landed in controversies so far". The Times Of India .
  10. "Wushu practitioner Aniyan Midhun landed in a huge controversy after one of his narrations in Bigg Boss Malayalam 5". Times of India . 24 February 2024.
  11. "Kerala HC directs I&B Ministry to 'immediately address the violations' in Bigg Boss Malayalam 6". timesofindia.indiatimes.com.
  12. "'Bigg Boss Malayalam' in hot water — Kerala High Court steps in". cnbctv18.com. 15 April 2024.
  13. "Kerala HC directs Union to immediately address violations of broadcasting advisories in telecasting Malayalam Bigg Boss Season 6". scconline.com.
  14. "Former winner Akhil Marar makes shocking allegations against Mohanlal's show". ottplay.com.
  15. "Bigg Boss Malayalam 7: Shanavas advises Gizele to dress modestly, says it's needed to earn love and votes from the Malayali audience". The Times of India. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
  16. "Bigg Boss Malayalam 7: Shanavas (Shanu) faces backlash over comment on Gizele Thakral's outfits — netizens call him kulapurushan". The Times of India. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
  17. "Bigg Boss Malayalam 7: Lakshmi's mother's comment on Adhila and Noora sparks fresh controversy". The Times of India. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
  18. 1 2 "Mohanlal blasts Lakshmi, Mastani for discriminatory comments against lesbian couple Adhila, Noora on Bigg Boss Malayalam Season 7". The Indian Express. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Bigg Boss Malayalam: Do paid PR and voting manipulations rule the game?". The Times of India. Retrieved 17 March 2025.
  20. 1 2 "Bigg Boss Malayalam 3 grand finale grabs record TRP rating". The Times of India.
  21. "Week 27 Rating - Bigg Boss Grand Finale, Adi Mone Basar TRP Report". 15 July 2022.
  22. "Bigg Boss Season 5 Malayalam Finale TRP is 13.97, Drama Juniors Grand Finale Earned 3.45 – Week 27 Malayalam Rating". 15 July 2022.
  23. "Bigg Boss Malayalam 6 scores big; becomes the most-watched reality show on TV".
  24. "Big Boss Malayalam: '136 ദശലക്ഷം മണിക്കൂര്‍ വാച്ച് ടൈം'; ബിഗ് ബോസ് മലയാളത്തിന്റേത് റെക്കോര്‍ഡ് കുതിപ്പെന്ന് ജിയോസ്റ്റാര്‍ സൗത്ത് ക്ലസ്റ്റര്‍ മേധാവി കൃഷ്ണന്‍ കുട്ടി". Times Now Malayalam. 5 September 2025. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
  25. "2022 Kerala television awards announced". the hindu. 6 March 2024.
  26. "മികച്ച സീരിയലിന് ഇത്തവണയും പുരസ്‌കാരമില്ല, ഹാസ്യ പരിപാടിക്കും അവാര്‍ഡില്ല; സംസ്ഥാന ടെലിവിഷന്‍ പുരസ്‌കാരം പ്രഖ്യാപിച്ചു" [2022 State Television Awards declared]. Southlive. 6 March 2024.