Mumbai, Oct 3 : The fifth season of the much-hyped reality show Bigg Boss kickstarted today with the unveiling of the 14 contestants, including the only male celebrity Shakti Kapoor and wife of convicted murderer Charles Sobhraj, Nihika Biswas.
Actress-cum-reality TV star Pooja Bedi, singer-actress Raageshwari Loomba, celebrity trans-gender Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, wrestler Sonika Kaliraman, actress Shraddha Sharma, model-actress Shonali Nagrani, actress Mahek Chahal, Afghani beauty queen Vida Samdajai, TV actress Juhi Parmar, dancer Gulabi Sapera, model-VJ Pooja Mishra, and news anchor Mandeep Belvi are the other participants who will be locked in the Bigg Boss' house.
The format of the show has undergone a change from the previous seasons which had seven male and seven female contestants. The Bigg Boss house too has been shifted from Lonavala to Karjat.
While bollywood baddie Shakti is famous for playing a molester on-screen, 22-year-old Nihita shot to fame after marrying Sobhraj, who is serving life imprisonment in Nepal. Raageshwari, who was diagnosed with Bell's palsy and had almost given up on her career, is gearing to launch her first album in five years.
Pooja Bedi, who shot to fame in Aamir Khan starrer film ‘Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar', was earlier seen in reality shows like ‘Nach Baliye', ‘Khatron ke Khiladi' and ‘Maa Exchange'.
Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, who is also a social activist, continues the tradition of representing sexual minorities on the show which started with actor Bobby Darling, followed by designer Rohit Verma and Pakistan's Begum Nawazish Althat. Laxmi has been part of TV shows like ‘Sach Ka Saamna' and ‘Raaz Picchle Janam Ka'.
While Sonika Kaliraman made name for herself by participating in reality shows like ‘Khatron Ke Khiladi' and ‘Zor Ka Zatka', Shraddha Sharma made headlines after being reportedly beaten by ex-beau Raja Chaudhary, TV actress Shweta Tiwari's estranged husband.
Shonali Nagrani has made appearances in films like ‘Dil Bole Hadippa' and ‘Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi' and also hosted a couple of TV shows.Another inmate actress Mahek Chahal was seen in films like ‘Wanted' and ‘Nayee Padosan', besides an item number in ‘Yamla Pagla Deewana'.
Vida Samdajai is a former Miss Afghanistan beauty queen, and Juhi Parmar is best known for her role as the title character in the daily soap ‘Kumkum'.Gulabi Sapera, also known as Gulabo the Kalbeliya dancer from Rajasthan, is part of the international culture and music circuit, part of jazz bands and a performer in films.Pooja Mishra has earlier been part of ‘The Big Switch' show on Bindass channel and Mandeep Belvi is an anchor with Headlines Today.
The 14 contestants will be locked in the Bigg Boss house for about three months with over 55 cameras following their every move 24x7. The contestants will have to do all household chores right from cleaning the washrooms to cooking with a handful of morsel to waking up in the wee hours to obeying the Bigg Boss house rules.
After Pamela Anderson's three-day cameo appearance on Bigg Boss last year, the channel has roped in Colombian singer Shakira for a guest appearance in the fifth season.
Former South African cricketer Jonty Rhodes and former world heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, who was known for his combative and aggressive behaviour inside and outside the ring, too are scheduled to enter the Bigg Boss house at a later date. PTI
