Bigg Boss 19 to feature never-seen-before tasks; will it outshine Season 13? Endemol Shine COO Rishi Negi reveals it all

In recent years, viewers have complained about the show being biased, manipulated, and lacking the high-energy tasks that truly test contestants’ personalities. Addressing these concerns, Rishi Negi, COO of Endemol Shine and Banijay Asia, spoke to Hindustan Times about what’s new this season and whether Bigg Boss 19 can recreate the electrifying magic of Bigg Boss 13.

Rishi Negi on Bigg Boss 19 theme

Rishi revealed what makes Bigg Boss 19 unique compared to previous seasons and said, “From the theme perspective, for the last couple of years, we have been hearing on social media a lot of people saying Bigg Boss is biased or scripted. While the show is completely unscripted as it is a reality show, there’s no interference for 105 days with the contestants. The only thing we give them is the tasks and the feedback that goes to them through Salman. This year we picked on that and decided to make this season about democracy, which is about letting housemates make the decision.”

He added, “Then there is no point left of anybody saying that this decision is influenced or biased. India is the mother of democracy, and we will see a very democratic house where housemates will have to understand the power and how their decisions will affect them as a group or individually. I think that is a big differentiation we created this year, and we’ll get great content from there.”

Rishi Negi explains the role of the audience

After the trailer launched, in which Salman revealed that the housemates will have decision-making power, many viewers questioned the role of the audience. Clarifying this, the COO said, “The role of the audience stays the same, that is, they will decide who will stay and who will go. The housemates are not going to vote each other out. The voting and final power will remain with the audience. We are digital-first this time, so we are building a lot of interactivity for the audience in the show. They will also participate and have a say in the show. So it’s going to be very interesting from that perspective.”

How ‘Gharwalon Ki Sarkaar’ idea was conceptualised

Rishi revealed that the idea of democracy came from their research and feedback. He said, “People said that the last two seasons Bigg Boss was biased, and at one point in time in the show, Bigg Boss himself said that he’s biased. Now, that was said in a sarcastic way, but people took it literally. So we thought, let’s break the myth this year and give the power to participants, while the broad Bigg Boss rules will apply. It’s very easy when you have a third party making a decision. Then you can very easily appreciate or criticise it. But when you have to make that difficult decision, then we see the personalities coming out. So you’ll not be able to sit on the fence and will be involved in making decisions. So that dynamic that was missing, we’ll see that.”

Bigg Boss not biased anymore?

Last season, many criticised Bigg Boss for passing sarcastic comments, guiding housemates and even behaving like one of the players. However, Rishi explained how the role of Bigg Boss has changed in season 19 and said, “It was three years back when we made Bigg Boss very interactive, and it was a time when Bigg Boss was seen as the very strict grandfather of a joint family. But we thought, let’s give him a tonality which is like a more cooler father who guides with jokes. But this time, you’ll see Bigg Boss going back to being the guy who sets the rules and boundaries, but he’ll not interact like you saw last year.”

Never-before-seen tasks in Bigg Boss 19

Bigg Boss has always been known for bringing out the real personalities of celebrities locked inside the house through tasks. However, the lack of proper tasks in the last few seasons infuriated the audience, with many feeling the show had become boring. Rishi confirmed that this season, the magic will return. He said, “One of the big things we are doing this year is that the team has worked on the entire task list and all the tasks you will see have never been done before or seen before. From the scale of the tasks to how we shoot it, I think you’ll see a great differentiation in that also. Our idea is to go back to the OG Bigg Boss, whether it is from the task perspective or from the casting perspective.”

He added, “I think the effort is to go back to the OG Bigg Boss that had all elements. You know this show is not about fights. When it started, it was about a social experiment where you put a bunch of celebrities inside without any contact with the outside world, and then you wanted to see the kind of emotions that came out. It can’t be a unilateral one single emotion show. When there are fights, they always get highlighted, even in real life. I am hoping this to be like a blockbuster that has all emotions.”

Can Bigg Boss 19 match the magic of Bigg Boss 13?

While this might excite the viewers, many still wonder if the show will re-create the magic of Season 13. When asked about this, Rishi said, “Season 13 was iconic because of some of the housemates like Sidharth, Asim or Shehnaaz or Shefali. It was a great mix of cast. I am very hopeful and confident because this year we have looked at casting with a fresh perspective. We looked at casting of characters, and it’s not only about are you’re controversial or do you have a big following. It’s about choosing characters because those characters will bring the house to life. So I am confident that this season will be bigger, better and more appreciated than the seasons that have just gone by.”

Casting of Bigg Boss 19

Rishi confirmed that this year Bigg Boss will not only feature celebrities with huge social media followings but also those who bring a new flavour with their unique personalities. “The attempt while Bigg Boss casting is that while you have people who are famous and big following, our attempt this year has been to look for characters. I am not going to cast somebody just because they have a huge following. There have been people who have come to the team who had huge followings, but if their character is not interesting, I am not going to put them in the house,” he said.

The biggest accusation that Bigg Boss faces every year is that it’s scripted, but Rishi clarified, “People who have done the show will stand witness to it that it’s a completely unscripted show. We only provide triggers, whether through tasks or situations, but the emotions that come out are all natural and real. Anybody going into the house as their real self and presents themselves like that actually comes out smelling of roses. So this show is completely real. Even if you want to, you can’t influence.”

Bigg Boss is all set to have a grand premiere on August 24, with Salman Khan introducing the contestants one by one and locking them inside the grand Bigg Boss house. The makers have already released promos without revealing contestants’ faces, with fans speculating names like Awez Darbar, Nagma Mirajkar, Gaurav Khanna and Amaal Mallik. However, it will only be confirmed when Salman introduces them on stage. The show will stream on JioCinema and air an hour later on Colors TV.