Toofani Seniors, multiple comebacks and Salman Khan’s sermons: All the ‘firsts’ that we saw on Bigg Boss 14

Bigg Boss 14 is set to air its finale on February 21 with Rubina Dilaik, Rahul Vaidya, Aly Goni, Nikki Tamboli and Rakhi Sawant as finalists.

The year 2020 has been unprecedented for all of us in more ways than one. It was thus only natural that Salman Khan-hosted Bigg Boss 14 will also see a slew of changes. And bang came the tagline- “Ab scene paltega”. While the pre-production had makers work towards proper quarantining, maintaining safety measures and multiple Covid tests before entering the house, the season also had its many ‘firsts’.

Before Bigg Boss 14 airs its finale on February 21, here’s a list of everything new that happened this year.

BB Mall, theatre and spa

During the launch of Bigg Boss 14, makers had announced that they will organise pre-lockdown luxuries in the house. Contestants were to get a chance to shop from the BB Mall, spend leisure time in the spa and even watch a film in the BB theatre. While these areas were set to become highlight of the show, apart from getting freebies from the mall, none of the areas ever became a talking point among contestants.

Toofani Seniors

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Every year, we do have past contestants coming in to share their pearls of wisdom with the current lot. Their experiences are always valued by housemates, who make an effort to alter their game strategy with their advice. However, this season, for the first time, three ace champions — Hina Khan, Gauahar Khan and Sidharth Shukla — were introduced as ‘Toofani Seniors’, who pledged to make things difficult for the ‘freshers’. While the seniors managed to rake in the expected numbers, their presence received a mixed response, from both people inside and outside the house.

Reject zone and TBC

The ‘Toofani Seniors’ were given the privilege of choosing which contestants would enter the house, and who should be rejected. As Salman Khan introduced the lot at the premiere, the former champs got them to perform some tasks to prove their entertainment worth. Rubina Dilaik, Jaan Kumar Sanu, Nishant Singh Malkhani and Sara Gurpal had to live in the garden area for a week after being tagged ‘TBC – To be Confirmed’. The new element turned out to be a flop given the contestants made no efforts to win their place back in the house.

Sob stories used for immunity

One of the only tasks in Bigg Boss 14 that made a noise was when contestants were asked to share their past secrets to win an immunity stone. The sadder the story, the bigger the chance to get saved from nomination. The thought, in paper itself, seems uncomfortable but housemates got going fishing out their worst memories. While Eijaz Khan opened up about being molested as a kid, Jasmin Bhasin spoke about her attempt to harm herself, while Nikki Tamboli shared that she was once kidnapped. Rubina Dilaik left her fans shocked when she disclosed that her marriage with Abhinav Shukla was at stake. The Shakti actor revealed that the couple was even imploring divorce, and took up Bigg Boss as a means to give their relationship the last chance. The teary confessions did bring in the numbers but audiences were disgusted with the emotional exploitation.

Also Read |Sandiip Sikcand on Bigg Boss 14’s immunity stone task: Contestants need to understand where to draw the line

Personal vendetta in the game

Matters outside Bigg Boss being brought in to rake up drama is not an uncommon strategy. However, this season, during arguments, the audience also got to experience old skeletons tumbling out of the cupboard. Kavita Kaushik revealed that she ‘cooked’ for Eijaz Khan during the lockdown, and his ungratefulness in the house shocked her. While she also hinted at some past issues with Abhinav Shukla, it was her husband Ronnit Roy, who tweeted that Shukla sent her drunk texts, post which she had to threaten to call police on him. And if these personal secrets were not enough, Aly Goni also accused Vikas Gupta of professionally hampering his work by bad mouthing him around.

Proposal on national television

The glass-walls of Bigg Boss have been witness to many love stories steaming inside. However, for the first time, a contestant considered the platform to profess his love. Indian Idol fame Rahul Vaidya surprised girlfriend Disha Parmar on her birthday with a marriage proposal. It became all the more special because the couple had never spoken about their relationship. Recently, on Valentine’s Day, his lady love visited the house to surprise him and said ‘yes’.

Nepotism jibe

The buzz created by Kangana Ranaut’s mention of the ‘N-word’ on Koffee with Karan is yet to die out in Bollywood. The small screen, which hadn’t seen a discussion around nepotism yet, suddenly woke up to Rahul Vaidya accusing Jaan Kumar Sanu’s presence on Bigg Boss because of his popular father Kumar Sanu. While the junior Sanu tried his best to defend himself, even going on to share how his parents separated before he was born, the allegation was not easy to shrug off. It took Salman Khan’s intervention to solve the issue.

Also Read |Jaan Kumar Sanu’s mother: Rahul Vaidya used nepotism jibe to gain public sympathy

Multiple eviction by contestants

Every season, contestants on rare occasions would get a chance to evict one among them. That became the turning point of the game (remember how Hiten Tejwani got voted out). However this season, not just one or two but four people walked out thanks to their co-contestants. Sara Gurpal, Shehzad Deol, Nishant Singh Malkhani and more recently Abhinav Shukla had to face the brunt of the competition.

Exit-comeback trend

This season, the Bigg Boss alley saw many housemates walking out, and then coming back soon after. The format of the show which requires one to be ‘locked in’ was conveniently forgotten by the makers as they chose to welcome back most housemates. Be it Kavita Kaushik, Nikki Tamboli, Aly Goni, Rahul Vaidya or Vikas Gupta, each one got to restart their journey after leaving the show once.

Also Read |Bigg Boss 14: What’s with the exit-comeback trend?

Salman Khan’s confusing sermons

Last season, irritated by the contestants’ hygiene, Salman Khan had shocked them by entering the house and doing the dishes, making beds and even cleaning the toilet. He had then suggested they take onus of their own surroundings. Salman Khan, while trying to school Nikki Tamboli for not helping Rakhi Sawant, did a 360 turn. The bhai went on to promote how the person responsible for an area has to work for everyone. Even his take on Rubina Dilaik and Abhinav Shukla’s equation perplexed the audience. At one point he wanted Dilaik to take charge, and then he wanted Shukla to act as the husband. Even when it came to contestants’ behaviour with each other, this season Salman Khan had a very different kind of sermon as compared to other seasons. Change of heart or creative call, we still don’t know!

Bigg Boss 14 is set to air its finale on February 21 with Rubina Dilaik, Rahul Vaidya, Aly Goni, Nikki Tamboli and Rakhi Sawant as finalists.