Niyati Khanna on November 25, 2013
Salman Khan is the face of India’s most talked about reality show – Bigg Boss 7. It is his fourth year in the running, while Arshad Warsi, Shilpa Shetty and Amitabh Bachchan wrapped up with one season each.
The host of any show is not just the ‘star attraction’, but also the voice of the show. He or she is a conscious keeper of the show, and trust me, it’s the toughest job in the world – to host a show likeBigg Boss 7.
Seventy days of Bigg Boss 7 have passed. Here are the ‘SEVEN’ things, that I want to bring to your notice:
Contestants: Salman Khan has no say when it comes to choosing the contestants. Being one of Indian film industry’s biggest star, his suggestions are obviously considered. Some suggestions by Salman are Ashmit Patel, Mahek Chahal, Sana Khan, the very recent Hazel Keech and Rajat Rawail. Now, these are mere recommendations, and the final decision always lies with the channel and the contestants, whether they want to participate or not.
This year, Salman Khan is finding himself stuck in a very precarious situation. His friend, Ajay Devgn‘s sister-in-law Tanisha Mukerji is one of the contestants in Bigg Boss 7. And she has till now had a shameful run. Call it her strategy, or whatever, the way she is portraying herself is something that has upset her family from the beginning itself. Businessofcinema.com was the first one to report about Ajay Devgn requesting Salman Khan to use his clout (Read report here), and evict Tanisha. But, if that were possible, Tanisha might have been evicted already. But that didn’t happen. What Salman Khan had in his hands, he did – he politely warned Tanisha.
But even after that if Tanisha goes on doing all that, for reasons best known to her, where is Salman’s fault in this?
Fights: This season has been the worst so far. Fights that always ended up into personal spaces of the housemates, their dirty linen being washed out on our TV sets, and very crude and below the belt remarks. What can Salman Khan do about all this? He tries hard to reprimand the wrong, acknowledge the right, but what more can he do?
Eviction: On October 26, 2013, we reported that Tanisha has been evicted. According to our sources in the production team, the change happened last minute. Ajay Devgn did attempt everything to convince Salman Khan to bring Tanisha out of the show. Shooting was stalled, and thus the word of her eviction got leaked.
But then came in the channel. Tanisha is the ‘meat’ of Bigg Boss 7, and her eviction could have damaged the TRPs. So, in spite of extreme requests from Salman Khan and Ajay Devgn, channel remained adamant, and kept Tanisha on the show. They showed the contract to Salman and Ajay, which was in their favor and interest. Also, the decision is based on people who vote. So, why blame Salman for all this?
Episodes: The show gets recorded twenty-four by seven, out of which, only the one-hour edited capsule is aired. What to show, and what not to show is entirely in the hands of the channel. Salman Khan has a say only on the content of the weekend episodes, which he hosts. How can he be blamed for whatever filthy fights that happen throughout the week?
Dismissals, Re-entries, Wildcard entries: There has been too much talk about Kushal’s re-entry in the show. Salman took a stand, of not having Kushal back on the show – and Salman was right about this. It was his personal stand, like all of us have our personal opinions and stands. What is the need to make a huge mess out of it, and blame Salman Khan for everything? Sources from the production team say, “More filth was needed on the show. Kushal had discussed his entire plan about how he will create all the necessary drama, but you guys leaked the news, and Salman poured cold water on his plans on Saturday, when he lashed out at Kushal.” (Read about Kushal’s evil plan post re-entry here)
Love stories: If Kushal and Gauahar are seriously involved, or are only doing that to stay in the show, or if Tanisha is just using Armaan and making a fool of herself, or whatever the real thing is – how is the host of such a show the problem? Why blame Mr. Khan for the fake or real love that erupts on the show?
Channel: Bigg Boss 7 couldn’t grab top TRPs since the start. And the channel in all the desperate attempts did everything it could to raise the viewership. Their desperation is all over the place. But has Salman Khan anything to do with this? His weekend episodes are anyways most watched, not just in India, but even abroad. How can he be blamed for the channel’s desperation? This all could very well be the channel’s plan, and I would not be surprised to know that, like Kushal was trying to gain mileage by using Salman Khan’s name, the channel too might have gone to the extent of misusing Salman Khan’s name, by plugging various news around. Can be possible, no?
Having said this, I also want to make one thing very clear: I am neither Salman Khan’s PR, nor I am trying to get into his good books, nor Salman Khan or any of his representatives have asked me to present this. Salman Khan is beyond all this, he does not need anyone to take his side.
Salman is a great human being, not just a superstar. I salute him for what he is, and what he stands for. Think before you blindly say anything about him.
Now, over to you all.
Business of Cinema