Bigg Boss Kannada, also known as BBK, is the Kannada version of the reality TV show Bigg Boss, which is broadcast in India through the Colors Kannada channel. The show is produced by Endemol Shine India, which owns the global format of Big Brother. Kiccha Sudeepa was hired to host the reality show in 2013 for the first season on ETV Kannada (now Colors Kannada). Later, he continued as a host of the show.
Overview The 'Bigg Boss' house A 'Bigg Boss' House is constructed for every season. For the first two seasons, the house was located in Lonavala, in the Pune district of Maharashtra, where the Hindi version of Bigg Boss usually takes place. As the schedules for the Hindi and Kannada versions were expected to overlap, a house exclusively for the Kannada version was built at Innovative Film City in Bengaluru, Karnataka for the third season. This continued to be the location of the house for subsequent seasons of Bigg Boss Kannada. Each house built for a season of Bigg Boss is retained until the start of next season and is open to the public as an attraction.
The house is usually well-furnished and decorated, with modern amenities and a large, common bedroom for all contestants. The house would also have toilets, a swimming pool, gymnasium and spacious gardens. There are show-specific activity areas and a small sound-proof room with controlled entrance called the 'confession room', where the housemates are called in by the Bigg Boss for the nomination process and other conversations. Starting from the second season, there was also a luxurious single bedroom for the captain. This season also introduced a secret room with bed and other facilities, where an evicted contestant, if selected by the Bigg Boss to continue the game, would be retained for a week or two and then returned to the show.
The house has no television connection (except for the day where the show host Sudeep converses with the contestants through the TV), telephones, Internet access, clocks or writing equipment, complying with worldwide rules of Big Brother.
The house was reduced to ashes on 22 February 2018, and had to be rebuilt for the sixth season.
The 'Eye' logo Each season gets its own 'Eye' logo similar to the Bigg Boss and Big Brother shows. The first season of Bigg Boss Kannada on ETV Kannada inherited its logo from the sixth season of its Hindi counterpart in the form of a human eye with an eyeball displaying the SMPTE color bars, against a purple background with lightning storm. The second season moved to Suvarna TV and had a dedicated logo in the form of a more detailed human eye against a background which split the 'hot' (orange) and 'cold' (blue) sides of the personalities in the house. This logo also had the text 'Season 2' inserted below the eye. The third season returned to the previous broadcaster, then re-branded as Colors Kannada, and the logo was adapted from the first season version; it used a purple background with a tornado and the season number was not mentioned.
The fourth season logo featured a futuristic design, with different elements inside the eye, against a background that uses tech elements and logos from the previous season on a dominant blue color. It was partially derived from the eye used for the season 15 of Big Brother UK. The logo used for the fifth season of Bigg Boss Kannada was adapted from season 14 of Big Brother UK; it shows a pile of old television sets displaying the SMPTE bars hanging at the center from the top, surrounded by multicolored doors, cupboards, lights and windows forming the shape of an eye against a background of an overcast sky with fireworks. For the sixth season, an 'ice-fire' theme was adopted for the logo while the seventh season's logo was adapted from season 20 of Celebrity Big Brother UK.
House rules While not all the rules have ever been disclosed to the audience, the most prominent ones are clearly seen. The inmates should talk in Kannada at all times, although minimal use of English is allowed. The property of the house, including the electronic equipment and the furniture, should not be tampered with or damaged by the housemates. The housemates cannot leave the house premises at any time except when permitted. Sleeping is only allowed when the lights go off in the night. Liquor is forbidden and housemates can only smoke in the smoking area. A housemate can not assault another housemate physically; if they do so, they will be eliminated from the house.
Nomination Nomination is a mandatory activity, usually taking place on first day of the week in which all housemates need to take part unless directed by Bigg Boss. Each housemate nominates two other housemates for eviction. Housemates receiving the most nomination votes are nominated for eviction from the house and undergo a public vote (through SMS). On the weekend episode, usually the one contestant with the lowest vote will be evicted from the house. A housemate may also be directly nominated for eviction by that week's captain of the house or for other reasons by the Bigg Boss. Housemates who are awarded 'immunity' cannot be nominated by other contestants. Immunity is automatically given to the week's captain and can be earned by contestants through winning specific tasks or achieving secret tasks given by Bigg Boss. Sometimes, the captain can make a contestant immune from nomination upon Bigg Boss' direction. The housemates are not allowed to discuss the nominations or the nomination process with each other.
House captaincy The captaincy concept was introduced in the second season. A captain is selected for every week by Bigg Boss through specific tasks or elected by the housemates. The captain has additional privileges in the form of immunity from nomination that week, exemption from participating in the task activities, and a separate bedroom with more facilities more than those of other contestants. The captain is exempt from nomination that week and has the power to either nominate a housemate directly, make a housemate immune from nomination or rescue a nominated housemate, depending on Bigg Boss' decisions. The captain's main duty is to supervise the weekly task, making sure its conditions are met and the task is performed well to procure a 'luxury budget' for the next week. Captains should also keep an eye on house rules and may punish a housemate for violating the rules.
Broadcast Bigg Boss Kannada premiered on ETV Kannada, with the second season airing on Star Suvarna. Seasons three and four were broadcast on Colors Kannada, while seasons five and six aired on Colors Super. From the seventh season onwards, Bigg Boss Kannada was aired on Colors Kannada and was also made available for streaming on Voot. Each day's episodes contain the main events of the previous day. Every Sunday episode mainly focuses on an interview of the evicted contestant by the host. For the seventh season the eviction process was changed to the Saturday episode.
Season summaries
Season 1
The first season of Bigg Boss Kannada was launched in 2013 and derived many of its concepts from the sixth season of the original Bigg Boss including the visual elements and the house itself, with slight alterations. 'Howdu Swami!' ('Yes Sir!') was adopted as the slogan for this season and the theme song for the show was sung by Vijay Prakash. The show was aired on ETV Kannada from Mondays to Saturdays from 8 pm to 9 pm, premiering on 24 March 2013. The tasks and house activities would take place from Mondays to Thursdays following a special episode on Fridays, 'Varada Kathe Kicchana Jothe' ('The Week's Story with Kiccha') in which the show's host Sudeep would appear and carryout the eviction for the week. Sudeep's appearance would continue on the next day's special episode, 'Super Saturday with Sudeep' where an interview of the evicted contestant and a promotion for an upcoming movie would take place with a celebrity guest on the stage with Sudeep. The programming that included the unseen content, 'Bigg Boss Unseen' was aired from 11 pm to 12 am on weeknights. A marathon of all the episodes of the week would run on Sundays from morning. All the episodes were available online on YouTube and the official website of Bigg Boss Kannada after the original airing. The finale of the show was aired on 30 June 2013. Post conclusion of the season, a spin-off programming 'Bigg Boss Autograph' was aired on the same time-slot which consisted of interviews on the journey of fellow contestants in the show. As of date, the episodes from this season are not available online.
Season 2
The second season moved to Asianet Suvarna and was launched in 2014. A new logo and a house exclusive to the Kannada version were created for this season along with a new theme song, with Vijay Prakash reprising his singing role. The slogan for this season was 'Thamashene Alla!' ('Not a Joke at all!'). The season premiered on 29 June 2014 with many new elements getting introduced, including the house captaincy. The programming was increased by a day to include Sundays and the weekly activities would take place from Mondays to Fridays from this season. Eviction episodes with Sudeep, 'Kicchinca Kathe Kicchana Jothe' ('Igniting Story with Kiccha') was aired on Saturdays followed by special episodes for interviews and movie promotions 'Sakkath Sunday with Sudeep' on Sundays. The unseen content for the season, 'Innu Ide Nodi Swami!' ('There's more to watch, Sir!') was aired from 11 pm to 12 am on weeknights. A marathon of all the episodes of the week would run on Sundays from morning. All the episodes were available online on YouTube and the official website of Suvarna after the original airing. The finale of the show was aired on 5 October 2014. After the season concluded, 'Bigg Boss Autograph' was aired on the same time-slot. As of date, the episodes from this season are not available online.
Season 3
The third season returned to the previous broadcaster, then re-branded to Colors Kannada from ETV Kannada. This was the first season to take place inside Karnataka, in a house bigger than the previous ones, built exclusively for the Kannada version at the Innovative Film City in Bengaluru. The season used many elements including the theme song and the logo with slight modifications from the first season. The season was also the first one to omit unseen content programming and online voting. The season premiered on 25 October 2015 and 'Naatakakke Illi Jaaga Illa!' ('There is no place for drama here!') was the slogan of this season. As with the usual format, the episodes would be aired from Mondays to Sundays, this time an hour later than the previous seasons. The time-slot from the third season has been 9 pm to 10 pm on weeknights. The eviction episode, 'Varada Kathe Kicchana Jothe' ('The Week's Story with Kiccha') returned and was aired on Saturdays and continued with 'Super Sunday with Sudeep' on Sundays. The 'Bigg Boss Autograph' for Season 3 was hosted by Rishika Singh, alumna of the first season of Bigg Boss Kannada. The show's finale was aired on 31 January 2016. The episodes from this season were not available online after the airing, however were later made available on Voot platform.
Season 4