Bigg Boss is one of the most successful reality shows on Indian television. This year, Salman Khan returns to host the new season, which is Bigg Boss 19 . Ahead of the show’s grand premiere, Zoom exclusively interviewed Endemol Shine India and Banijay Asia’s COO Rishi Negi.
In conversation with us, he revealed why Salman is the best-suited host for Bigg Boss. Apart from this, Rishi Negi discussed how he and his team have ensured that Bigg Boss 19 will appeal to OTT and TV audiences.
Salman Khan is ‘unfiltered’, ‘best-suited host’
Speaking exclusively to us, Rishi Negi shared, “I think Salman bhai gets great equity to the show. We all know he’s a superstar. He’s India’s biggest star. So besides… in terms of his stature, his power and his stardom that he brings to the show, I think he’s the best-suited host for the show. Because this show is all about raw emotions.”
He further mentioned how Salman has always guided the contestants and been real on stage. “This show is about managing a bunch of contestants who are going to be locked up in the house without any outside contact for 105 days and guiding them through this journey, right? So when he is there on the stage, he is very unfiltered. He is one person who if he feels something is right, he says it. If he feels something is wrong, he says it. (He is) Not somebody who goes by popular opinion. He’s somebody who gets involved. And once he’s involved, he also has a point of view on the show.”
Negi also told Zoom, “A lot of people have breakdowns and a lot of people feel, after some time, that it’s overbearing… the way he guides them. And because everybody understands his power, stature and stardom, people listen and understand him. People also understand his emotions. He connects real connections with the contestants. So for him, it’s not about doing a job, and people know that. He brings a lot to the table and a lot to the equity of the show.”
On catering Bigg Boss 19 to OTT, TV audiences
Continuing the conversation, he revealed how he and his team have ensured that Bigg Boss 19 will appeal to both OTT and TV audiences. “One of the starting points was to look at how we are casting the show, where there are relevant contestants and relevant people for both audiences, whether it’s digital and whether it’s TV. The theme that we have built out this year, is something I think that everybody will connect to,” he shared.
Negi further mentioned, “Whether it’s a youngster, whether it’s an older person, everybody wants to have a right, wants to actually have a say in every decision that gets made. Whether it’s in your house, whether it’s in your office, whether it’s in your building. We are from that perspective, we really want to get involved in these decision-making.”
On a concluding note, he stated, “I think the theme will play out in that way. Because this is OTT first, the way we are going to film our tasks, the way we are approaching the edits… so that there is some excitement or there’s something happening at much shorter interval than you would need to do on TV. Because on OTT, with the younger audiences ,the attention spans are shorter, smaller, whatever you want to call it. These are a couple of things that we are working on this year to make sure that it appeals both across OTT and TV.”
Bigg Boss 19 will air on JioHotstar at 9 pm and on Colors TV at 10:30 pm.