After hitting national headlines last year with huge debates about obscenity, followed by stern warnings from the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, Bigg Boss had toned down its scandal-elements and begun to behave. This year, the reality show on Colors even shifted to a late night 10.30pm time slot.
But after what was aired on Day 2 of Bigg Boss Season 5, once again, questions will be raised whether the show is offending Indian sensibilities. The episode showed Afghan model Vida Samadzai repeatedly asking Shakti Kapoor about the “print” on his ‘undies’ which she could see from a see-through gown-like night dress that he was wearing in the morning.
As if in return to her over friendliness, Shakti narrated an incident about a Bollywood heroine ‘farting’ (using an indecent word like “paad” on national television) while giving a film shot. He went on to narrate how the hero of that film Sanjay Dutt (who co-hosts the programme with Salman Khan) had even arranged a special private screening of the ‘farting’ shot for twenty of his select friends, who clapped and mocked at the heroine after what they saw and ‘heard’. Eeks!
Later, Charles Sobhraj’s Nepalese wife Nihita Biswas mischievously asked Shakti Kapoor, “Subah aapne kya pehna tha? Andar sab kuch dikh raha tha!” Though Shakti considers Nihita a big chatterbox, she was seen giving the Bollywood villain a head massage, quite similar to the one Sara Khan and Veena Malik used to give Ashmit Patel last year. Gosh! Even the acclaimed model Shonali Nagrani was seen vigorously throwing herself at Shakti during a fun task.
Earlier, Pooja Bedi had asked Nihita if she has had “sex” with her jailed husband Charles Sobhraj. On Day 2, Pooja continued her obsession about sex queries, asking eunuch Laxmi Narayan Tripathi if she misses having sex. What’s more! In the trailer for Day 3, television gossip girl Mandeep Bevli was shown confessing to a camera, with her trademark bewildered owlish look, saying, “khana nahin kha rahe hai, potty nahin aa raha hai.” Oof!
Public relations expert Dale Bhagwagar, who is a specialist with reality shows, having handled the publicity and hype for names like Shilpa Shetty, Ashmit Patel, Kashmera Shah, Sherlyn Chopra and Rakhi Sawant, says, “It’s too early to come to conclusions about obscenity in the current season of Bigg Boss.” Admitting that the episode did air a couple of lines which could have been easily avoided, he feels, “these could just be isolated incidents.”
Hope they indeed are! After all, we do not want to see yet another national uproar about Bigg Boss crossing the line, while, like last year, our political parties jump into the fray, passing judgments and strictures on their own accord. Or do we?
