Special Feature: BizAsia looks back at previous winners of ‘Bigg Boss’
Colors is all set to air the star-studded ‘Bigg Boss 15’ grand finale this weekend with Bollywood stars Deepika Padukone, Ananya Panday and Shehnaz Gill gracing the stage. The Indian TV reality show, which first premiered in 2006, is now celebrating its 15th season and has seen its ratings skyrocket in recent weeks. Ahead of the grand finale on 30th January 2022, BizAsiaLive.com looks back at the previous winners of ‘Bigg Boss’.
Rahul Roy (Season 1)
When season 1 kickstarted in 2006, little did Indian audiences have an idea about the format of ‘Bigg Boss’. They were surprised to see their favourite celebrities being so candid on camera. They were even shocked to see them fight for food, and in one instance, over a coffee mug. While Rakhi Sawant and Kashmera Shah kept us all entertained throughout the season, the sombre Roy took home the trophy.
Ashutosh Kaushik (Season 2)
Having won ‘Roadies 5’, Kaushik stepped into ‘Bigg Boss 2’ and won it quite easily. With few ‘entertaining’ contestants in the season, Kaushik enthralled all with his desi-ness and fondness for Diana Haydon. The season was hosted by the winner of the British show Big Brother, Shilpa Shetty.
Vindu Dara Singh (Season 3)
Season 3 saw veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan helm the show, but unfortunately over the years has been the most forgettable. The show was won by Singh, while Pravesh Rana was announced as the runner-up. The only masala in this season was Kamal Rashid Khan and his antics.
Shweta Tiwari (Season 4)
This season kickstarted the trend of television bahus entering the ‘Bigg Boss’ house. It was one of the most entertaining and exciting seasons in the history of the show. It even had, for the first time, a live wedding on national television. Tiwari, who fought all odds, including the feisty Dolly Bindra, finally emerged as the winner. ‘WWE’ champ The Great Khali was announced as the runner up.
Juhi Parmar (Season 5)
Following in the footsteps of Tiwari, Parmar also went on to win ‘Bigg Boss 5’. The season had quite a few interesting contestants, but given Juhi’s popularity, none had a chance. This was also the first time that the show had two hosts – Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt.
Urvashi Dholakia (Season 6)
After playing a vamp in ‘Kasautii Zindagii Kay’, Dholakia shocked everyone with her cool avatar in ‘Bigg Boss 6’. While the season is mostly remembered for Imam Siddiqui and his antics, Dholakia went on to win the show. For the first time, the makers also introduced two houses in the same plot.
Gauahar Khan (Season 7)
Given her personality and popularity, Khan seemed like an obvious choice as the ‘Bigg Boss 7’ winner. Added to that, her chemistry with co-contestant Kushal Tandon was much loved. Khan had a very interesting journey, one of the best on the show. Time and again, she has even come back to the reality show to share her experience with the contestants.
Gautam Gulati (Season 8)
While Karishma Tanna came across as a strong contender in the season, Gautam Gulati snatched the trophy from her hand towards the last leg of the show. Gulati was side lined by other housemates, however, he kept entertaining fans. Soon, people fell in love with him, and voted in huge numbers for him to be announced as the winner. He also made headlines for his whirlwind romance with fellow housemate Diandra Soares.
Prince Narula (Season 9)
The king of reality shows, Narula entered ‘Bigg Boss’ after winning ‘Splitsvilla’ and ‘Roadies’. On the show, the young man was seen wearing his heart on his sleeves. While he initially seemed attracted to Yuvika Chaudhary, post her eviction, he started getting friendly with Nora Fatehi. With a smart mind, straight forward nature, and a dare-devil attitude when it comes to tasks, Narula went on to win ‘Bigg Boss 9’.
Manveer Gurjar (Season 10)
‘Bigg Boss 10’, for the first time, opened its door to commoners. While Gurjar initially seemed to be under the shadow of Manu Punjabi, towards the last leg of the game, he impressed, and how. Gurjar’s simplicity, friendly nature and a mature mindset helped him win hearts, and eventually also the trophy of the show.
Shilpa Shinde (Season 11)
Despite being a season with many favourites, Shinde broke all the records to win the show. Hina Khan and Vikas Gupta were also quite popular in the season. Shinde, with her fearless attitude and entertaining personality, kept her fans entertained throughout.
Dipika Kakar (Season 12)
One of the least popular seasons in the history of ‘Bigg Boss’, television’s popular bahu Simar aka Kakar entered the show with the aim to take home the trophy. Giving her competition was her ‘bhai’ Sreesanth. At the end of the day, Dipika managed to win with a huge margin.
Sidharth Shukla (Season 13)
Breaking the ‘TV bahu’ domination, TV’s favourite hero Shukla took home the trophy in the 13th season of ‘Bigg Boss’. While he had many big names as competition, the biggest fight was with his friend-turned-enemy Asim Riaz. The two reached the finale but given Shukla’s popularity, he beat Riaz in the finals. Unfortunately, Shukla died on September 2, 2021 due to a heart attack.
Rubina Dilaik (Season 14)
Like every season, ‘Bigg Boss 14’ began with much fanfare in October 2020. But this time, the stakes were higher for the creative team and the contestants. After all, ‘Bigg Boss 14’ was coming at a time the country was under the coronavirus-induced lockdown and the avenues of entertainment and recreation were limited to mobile phones and TV sets. Despite the challenges and heavy rainfall playing havoc onto the sets, TV soap actress Dilaik was declared the eventual winner of an unmemorable season, with playback singer Rahul Vaidya announced as the runner-up.
The ‘Bigg Boss 15’ grand finale will be held broadcast on Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th January.