How real can reality shows get: Top 5 controversies of Bigg Boss 11
Controversies are part of the Bigg Boss package, as it’s not humanly possible for a group of strangers to share a confined space for three months and not throw dirt on one another. Initially, contestants remain conscious of the cameras trained on every word spoken, every glance exchanged. But gradually, the masks fall off, and there is no dearth of friction and fracas. Bigg Boss 11 probably saw the most number of controversies for a season, as almost all housemates, irrespective of their background, contributed to them, and those who didn’t were shown the door quite early.
Here are the top five controversies of this season:
Bhabhiji controversy
Thi issue dates back to 2016, when Shilpa Shinde had quit the famous show Bhabhiji Ghar Par Hai! At that time, she had complained that she was harassed by the production team and was sent a legal notice for breach of trust. Shubhangi Atre replaced her character of Angoori Bhabhi in the show. Inside the Bigg Boss house, Shinde said that Vikas Gupta, also a contestant, was responsible for whatever had happened. That controversy never died down as both of them continued gunning for each other, while pretending to bury the hatchet. Every time the duo shared screen space, it was electrifying.
Hina Khan wearing borrowed clothes
The Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai actor invited controversies frequently. The list is long, the latest being the one in which she apparently called Shilpa Shinde a “call girl”. She made inappropriate comments about everybody inside the house, slut-shamed Arshi Khan and didn’t spare even other actors like Gauhar Khan and Sakshi Tanwar. But the most interesting controversy revolved around her wardrobe, which had umpteen items that allegedly do not belong to her. It was said that Hina's stylist knocked the doors of several designers to sponsor her clothes on the show. This didn’t remain a secret inside the house, and housemates even planned to damage some of her clothes during a task, so that she would have to pay for them once she left the house.
Priyank-Vikas-Benafsha
Reality television star Priyank Sharma was allegedly in a relationship with producer Vikas Gupta before he entered the house. Inside the house, he was romantically inclined towards Benafsha Soonawalla, who was eliminated quite early. When family members of the contestants came to visit them, Priyank’s ex-girlfriend Divya was sent inside the house, and she slammed Priyank for getting involved in relationships to win reality shows. This created a lot of buzz, as it was not clear whether the entire episode was scripted. The Priyank-Vikas relationship generated a lot of homophobic comments inside the house.
Akash Dadlani forcing himself on Shilpa
The contestants had never been secretive about their age. Shilpa Shinde, being the senior-most inside the house, happily agreed to mother Akash Dadlani and Arshi Khan. However, Akash seemed not to understand boundaries well, and forcefully planted a kiss or two on Shilpa’s cheeks. When questioned, he said he was born and brought up outside India and as a 24-year-old, had "no interest" in 40-year-old Shinde.
The season also witnessed several assaults, including the physical fight between Vikas and Akash.
How real can reality shows become?
Hina Khan describing the physical proximity of Puneesh Sharma and Bandgi Kalra, who were dating each other, didn’t go down well with many. She was slammed for her “puritanical” attitude during a recently-held press conference too, where she was compared to "gossiping aunties". She was also called a fake crusader for the cause of women empowerment, as she repeatedly belittled other women on the show. When, in her defence, Hina said that she believed there should be a limit on national television, it triggered a serious debate.
All these eclipsed other controversies, such as Akash Dadlani claiming to be a close relative of musician Vishal Dadlani and Zubair Khan’s claim of being related to Haseena Parkar, which at one point looked set to blow up into major issues, but fizzled out over time.
Also read: Why we shouldn't trust who the clear winner is just yet