Bigg Boss Agnipariksha 2, also known as Bigg Boss 10: Agnipariksha, is the second season of the pre-show Bigg Boss Agnipariksha. The pre-show involves selecting commoner contestants for the main show. The show streamed on JioStar's streaming service platform JioHotstar and aired on Star Maa. The show premiered on 15 August 2026, with former Bigg Boss contestants Sreemukhi returned as host and Abijeet, Bindu Madhavi, Navdeep returned as judges.
The show feature 15 selected commoners compete to earn their spot in the Bigg Boss Telugu 10 house. The winners entered the Bigg Boss 10 house as commoner contestants.
Development Digital Auditions The initial call for applications was made on a website. Applicants had to register and upload a short video explaining why they deserve to be on the show.
Screening and Shortlisting The makers shortlisted thousands of applications into smaller group of candidates based on their video submissions, personality, and screen presence in five levels. Level 1: Initial Screening, Out of lakhs of applications, around 200 candidates are selected based on their videos, personality, and screen presence. Level 2: Phone Interview, From those, 150 people receive a call for the next round. Level 3: Group Discussion Round, These 150 are filtered down to 70 candidates after a group task. Level 4: In-Person Interviews, Judges and even former contestants interview the 70, selecting the top 15. Level 5: Compete in tasks and the public votes to pick the commoners who will officially enter the house!
Format The makers shortlisted 70 commoner candidates to participate in the Agnipariksha pre-show. The mastermind judges will evaluate the participants based on their physical strength, mental agility, and humour. They will wield a green fire signal for approval and a red fire signal for rejection to select 15 contestants for the show. After selection process, the contestants compete in tasks, judged by former contestants. There will also be public voting for the selection. The selected candidates will join the main show along with celebrity contestants.
Season summary
Auditions (Episode 1–5) The contestants who receive three green signals from the judges will be directly selected for the Top 15. The contestants who receive three red signals from the judges will not be selected. The contestants who receive one or two green signals will be kept on hold for further rounds. Episode no.EpisodedateContestantCityJudgesResultRef.AbijeetBindu MadhaviNavdeep115 Aug 2026Shalini Damera PatelKarimnagarOn HoldAbhi SangerVizagSinger JhansiSuryapetOn HoldUppal BaluHyderabadAnjaliN/AArjun AryaN/ASrivaniN/ADeborahHyderabadRunning RajaKurnoolMithilesh ReddyMadanapalle216 Aug 2026Charan MahadevNizamabadBeebjan ShaikOngoleVishishtaN/ARockstar RajN/ASatya RayaproluN/ANikhilN/ABharathHyderabadAman MasudNalgondaOn HoldSumaSiddipetOn HoldAkshay RajBalapurGayathri VardhanHyderabadOn HoldPothurajN/APoojitha JagadabhiN/ASagarika ShettyN/ACharan KoushalN/ASharmithaN/ARuchitha NihaniWarangalOn Hold317 Aug 2026Shiva Srishti VyakaranamVizagOn HoldAyyappa SadhuBhimavaramAparnaVizagRamakrishna KoyyaSrikakulamOn HoldRajuSiddipetAnushree KatkamN/AAthanki SubbarayuduN/AKavyasa NaiduN/ABharath VedN/ARajakumari DayanaRajanagaramLaya JyothiHyderabadOn HoldSamsavN/APrathapN/AVinithaN/ALokeshN/APradeep KumarN/AVenky Venkatesh VibeBestavaripetaOn Hold418 Aug 2026Lakshmi Deepak SenapathyVizagOn HoldAproovaKhammamOn HoldRohit Naidu PatnamVijayawadaOn HoldGoutham RajuEluruOn HoldRamyaAndhra PradeshOn HoldAishwarya RavindraN/AOn HoldSriram VasupalliN/AOn HoldSri Sikkolu SeamanN/AOn HoldSakshithaOrugalluOn HoldGowri TrinetraKonaseemaOn HoldBhagi Tulluri GoudNelloreOn Hold519 Aug 2026Joshna ReddyKurnoolOn HoldFutaJapanOn HoldAbhignaHyderabadOn HoldSai ShauryaN/ADhanlaxmiN/ARuchita MantriN/AHari PrasannaN/ASonyN/ANimmakaya NaveenN/AHemanth Kumar YadavHyderabadOn HoldShruthiN/ALovely ChinnaN/ANamitha VarmaN/ARamakrushnaN/AMary RoseyN/AVenkata KrishnaN/ABembadi PriyankaMancherialOn Hold Male Contestants Female Contestants Trans Contestants
On Hold Contestants Out of the 26 contestants placed on hold, only 18 were selected by the jury to advance to the next round.
Aman Masud Aproova Bembadi Priyanka Bhagi Tulluri Goud Futa Gayathri Vardhan Hemanth Kumar Yadav Joshna Reddy Lakshmi Deepak Senapathy Laya Jyothi Ramakrishna Koyya Rohit Naidu Patnam Ruchitha Nihani Shalini Damera Patel Singer Jhansi Shiva Srishti Vyakaranam Suma Venky Venkatesh Vibe
Sriram Vasupalli, Gowri Trinetra, Ramya, Goutham Raju, Aishwarya Ravindra, Abhigna, Sri Sikkolu Seaman and Sakshitha were eliminated.
Dare or Die (Episode 6–7) The contestants placed "On Hold" competed in various dares to guarantee their spot in the Top 15. Episode no.Episode dateDare No.ContestantsWinner + SelectedEliminatedRef.620 Aug 20261Shalinivs.Aman colspan="2" none2Deepak vs. Gayathri vs. Rohit vs. Srishti colspan="2" 3Hemanth vs. Krishna vs. Venkatesh colspan="2" 4Bhagi vs. Jhansi vs. Joshna vs. Laya vs. Priyanka vs. Ruchitha vs. Suma colspan="2" 5Hemanthvs.Venkateshnone721 Aug 2026FateAproovavs.FutaDare No.ContestantsWinner(s)SelectedEliminated6Aman vs. Deepak vs. Laya vs. SumaDeepak, Aman, Suma rowspan="5" rowspan="5" 7Hemanthvs.RohitHemanth8Jhansivs.PriyankaJhansi9Gayathri vs. Joshna vs. RohitRohit, Joshna10Aproovavs.RuchithaAproova
Top 15 Contestants Mithilesh Reddy Charan Mahadev Rajakumari Dayana Shalini Damera Patel Shiva Srishti Vyakaranam Ramakrishna Koyya Bhagi Tulluri Goud Hemanth Kumar Yadav Aman Masud Aproova Lakshmi Deepak Senapathy Bembadi Priyanka Singer Jhansi Rohit Naidu Patnam Gayathri Vardhan Voting lines for the Top 15 were opened, with the results scheduled to be revealed during the premiere of Bigg Boss 10. Top 15 Agnipariksha (Episode 8–22)
Fire Power Cards Twist This season introduced Fire Power Cards, a game-changing twist that played a crucial role throughout the contestants' Agnipariksha journey, with this power they could change the game. Episode no.Episode dateNo.Power CardContendersPower WinnerUsed inPower Used toRef.822 Aug 20261Reverse the decisionRajakumariCharanAproovaRajakumari Episode 10 She reversed the Team Leader's decision to give the Vote Appeal to Srishtiand took the Vote Appeal for herself.2Skip the roundHemanthGayathriDeepakDeepakEpisode 12He used the Skip the Round Power Card to skip one of the Mental Strength challenges, earning 30 points for his team. 3Blind Fire Card(Swap the Leader)AmanMithileshRohitAman(Bindu Madhavi)ShaliniEpisode 11Bindu Madhavi transferred Aman's Power Card to Shalini,allowing her to swap one of the leaders.She swapped Priyanka with Jhansi.923 Aug 20264Blind Fire Card(Immunity)RamakrishnaSrishtiSrishti(Navdeep)Episode 15She used this power to immune herself from Elimination.5Blind Fire Card(Steal the Half)BhagiPriyankaBhagi(Sreemukhi)Episode 13She used this power to steal half of Aman's team's points,which were added to Rajakumari's team.6Head StartShaliniJhansiJhansiEpisode 14She used this power to gain a head start in the Teamwork Challenge.1529 Aug 20267Blind Fire Card(+1/-1)RohitShaliniRohit(Abijeet)Episode 17 He used this power to add Mithilesh to the team andbench Bhagi from competing in the Quick Thinking Challenge. 8Bench a teamBhagiDeepakDeepak Episode 18 He used this power to bench Team Hemanth in the Speed Challenge.1630 Aug 20269Pair MakerRajakumariPriyankaPriyankaEpisode 19She used this power to form pairs for Coordination Challenge.10Wild Fire Card(Replay) -The Jury(Abijeet,Bindu Madhavi,Navdeep)ShaliniEpisode 21 Shalini won this card by winning the first Grand Finale Challenge.She used this power to replay one of the challenges. Contestants Statistics The best performer of the task was granted a vote appeal, while the MVP (Most Valuable Player) of the episode chosen by the judges, received a star and a vote appeal. The judges also selected a worst player and was given a yellow card . Episode no.101112131415-161718192021-22LaunchEpisode date24 Aug 202625 Aug 202626 Aug 202627 Aug 202628 Aug 202629-30 Aug 202631 Aug 20261 Sep 20262 Sep 20263 Sep 20264-5 Sep 20266 Sep 2026ChallengeStrengthEnduranceMental StrengthReal or FakeTeamworkSafetyVote toeliminateQuick ThinkingSpeedCoordinationVote tosaveSafetyTicket toBigg Boss-JhansiSAFELSAFEBESTSAFESAFESAFEGayathriSAFESAFEP4SAFEAmanSAFETicket toBigg BossAmanSAFESAFESAFESAFESAFESAFEGayathriWORST LSAFEP1SAFEUNSAFESAVEDSAFEShaliniSAFE LMVP SAFESAFESAFESAFERamakrishnaLSAFESAFEP1SAFEAmanSAFESAFESrishtiBEST +MVP SAFEWORST LSAFESAFEIMMUNERamakrishnaSAFESAFEP2SAFEAmanSAFESAFECharanSAFESAFESAFESAFESAFESAFERamakrishnaSAFEBENCHEDP3SAFEBhagi SAVEDSAFERohitWORST SAFEMVP SAFEMVP SAVEDGayathriLSAFESAFEP7SAFEAmanSAFESAFEApoorvaSAFESAFESAFEWORST SAFESAVEDGayathriSAFE BESTP6SAFEBhagiSAFESAFEDeepakSAFESAFESAFESAFESAFESAFEGayathriSAFESAFEP6SAFERamakrishnaSAFESAFEHemanthSAFEBESTSAFESAFESAFESAFEGayathriSAFE BENCHEDP4WORST UNSAFESAVEDSAFEMithileshSAFESAFESAFESAFESAFESAFEGayathriBESTBENCHEDP5SAFEAmanSAFESAFEPriyankaSAFESAFELSAFESAFEWORST SAVEDGayathriSAFESAFEP7BESTBhagiSAFESAFERajakumariSAFESAFESAFELMVP SAFESAFEGayathriSAFEMVP P5MVP AmanSAFESAFERamakrishnaSAFEWORST SAFESAFEBESTUNSAFEDANGERMVP LSAFEP2 UNSAFEUNSAFESAFEBhagiSAFEINJUREDSAFEBESTSAFESAFEGayathriLBENCHED WORST P3SAFEUNSAFEUNSAFEGayathri SAFESAFESAFELSAFEUNSAFEDANGEREliminatedNo EliminationNo EliminationNo EliminationRef. Legend:
BEST indicates that the contestant chosen as best performer by the team leader SAFE indicates that the contestant had a safe performance MVP indicates that the contestant chosen as the most valuable player by the judges WORST indicates that the contestant chosen as best player by the judges DANGER indicates that the contestant was in the danger zone. ELIM indicates that the contestant was eliminated
Notes
Guest appearances EpisodeGuest(s)Purpose of the visitRef.Episode 8Priya ShettyTo reveal a power card and conduct a task.Maryada ManishKalyan PadalaEpisode 9Demon PavanDivya NikhitaHarita HarishEpisode 11Sreenivas Kumar NaiduTo support the contestants.Episode 15VJ SunnyTo reveal a power card and conduct a task.Thanuja Puttaswamy and Gnaneshwari KandregulaTo promote their new series "Part-Timers".Priyanka SinghTo reveal a power card and conduct a task.Episode 16Yashmi GowdaAmardeep Chowdary
Controversy During the audition process for Bigg Boss Agnipariksha Season 2, social media influencer Uppal Balu reached the final audition round before being eliminated. Following his elimination, Balu released a video alleging that he was humiliated by judge Navdeep, who criticized his content as vulgar and queried its value. Balu questioned the judging criteria, arguing that commoners and individuals from middle-class backgrounds should not be looked down upon or judged unfairly during auditions, a stance that drew significant support from his followers and fellow content creators.
Critics accuse Bigg Boss Telugu Agnipariksha of subjecting queer and gender-nonconforming individuals, such as social media creator Uppal Balu (Agnipariksha Season 2) and drag artist Patruni Chidananda Sastry (Agnipariksha Season 1) to interrogation over their gender identities and content, labeling them as "vulgar" or invalidating their advocacy. The producers invite viral, marginalized creators to boost ratings through sensationalism, only to reject them under the guise of "protecting social values". Following public backlash, host Navdeep defended the show's intense format as a high-pressure "horror film" environment designed to test candidates' emotional resilience against social media negativity. Media critics contrast the show with Bigg Boss Malayalam, where host Mohanlal explicitly shut down homophobic remarks from contestants to uphold inclusivity.
References