Bigg Boss 11 blog: How episode 96 exposed the inhuman face of reality TV

This was not the first time that Bigg Boss contestants stepped out of their confinement to seek votes. In the last season, Manveer Gurjar and Manu Punjabi visited a mall and met fans in the same manner. But this time the mayhem it led to revealed that neither the showmakers, nor the mall authorities were equipped enough to ensure the safety of the contestants and those who visited the mall. Or, worse it was a publicity stunt carried out without regard for the safety of everybody present at the mall. 

Housemates were put inside a cage

The episode was telecast on Friday (January 5) and was shot on Wednesday (January 3). Word spread like wildfire and fans started crowding the mall from the afternoon, though it was not confirmed when the four nominated contestants — Shilpa Shinde, Vikas Gupta, Hina Khan and Luv Tyagi — would visit the mall. Like last year, a huge cage was set up in the middle of the ground floor, and the four housemates were placed inside the cage like animals in a zoo, the only difference being the inmates were happily complying with selfie requests of the hollering crowd.

Mall visit was cut short

The chaos was unanticipated. According to the plan, the contestants were supposed to meet and interact with their fans. They were also supposed to be the part of the secret ballot vote. But, there was a near-stampede situation. All floors were jam-packed. Many people dangerously stationed themselves on the moving escalators to get a better view of the housemates. Under such a situation, they had to leave the mall ahead of their schedule, and the voting was done in absence of them.

Hina Khan was heckled by unruly crowd

Though it was not shown during the episode, Hina Khan was allegedly heckled by the crowd as someone pulled her hair. Twitter went berserk as a video went viral on social media. And many Hina-haters rejoicing the fact that she has been heckled.

No crowd control

Manveer Gurjar and Manu Punjabi both were commoners. If the showmakers and the mall authorities calculated the size of the crowd by last year’s experience, they were wrong as this time they had two popular television faces – Shilpa Shinde and Hina Khan. While they were very happy to know that they have a huge fan following outside, there was no attempt to control the crowd. At least proper barricading and an announcement could have averted the situation.

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