Colors begins countdown to its biggest property Bigg Boss Season Saath-7

Show takes off on September 15 with Salman Khan taking viewers through the lives of the 14 celebrity contestants for 104 days through 'heaven and hell'

Sohini Sen | Mumbai | September 12, 2013

(L-R) Deepak Dhar, Vivek Mathur, Salman Khan, and Raj Nayak

Big Boss is set to rule the prime time slots once again, starting September 15, 2013. The reality show inspired by Big Brother, will be in its 7th season this year.

To mark the seventh season, the channel has decided to theme it around 'Heaven or Hell'.

"We believe heaven or hell are both here. Whatever we do, we will get the result of that here. And that's what we are going to show. Heaven and hell would both be there in the Big Boss house. You'll do good, you'll get benefits in the big boss house. You do bad, you get penalised. It's that simple," explained Raj Nayak, CEO, Colors.

The show will be hosted by Bollywood superstar Salman Khan for the fourth year round. Khan will take us through the journey of 14 celebrity contestants who will stay away from the outside world and live within the Big Boss house, allowing around 90 cameras to shoot them every day for 104 days. The show, presented by Vodafone, will air every day on the 9 pm slot.

Big Boss will replace 'Sanskaar – Dharohar Apnon Ki' and 'Na Bole Tum Na Maine Kuch Kaha Season 2' which were launched in January 2013. The fact that Big Boss is Colors' biggest property is evident from the fan following it has. As Nayak says," You may like it, you may hate it. But you will never stop watching it. It is Big! It is so big, in fact, that there are speculations about the show six months in advance."

Big Boss has already made its foray into regional television. While the Kannada version is hosted by Sudeep, the Bengali version sees Mithun Chakraborty donning the host's cap. Internationally approximately 20 series of Big Brother are made each year airing in over 60 countries. In India, all three versions are produced by Endemol India.

"Big Boss has captured the attention of the Indian audiences over the past 6 seasons with unpredictable, unadultared, unscripted entertainment. Season 7 - or Big Boss Saath 7, too will have numerous surprises, with the audience reveling in the dual realities of heaven and hell in the confines of the Big Boss house. There are some new things, elements or experiments this year too. But you will have to wait and watch out for it," said Deepak Dhar, Managing Director, Endemol India.

"Yes, it has been introduced in regional languages which is great. But what makes the Hindi version still tick is the fact that every year the contestants are different, the theme is different. You like to watch different people react differently to different situations and that's what we are showing. Hindi being more widely spoken over the country helps as well," added Nayak.

The cult show, as Nayak calls it, needs no introduction to the Indian television viewers. Yet, Colors has decided to market it strongly.

"Heaven and hell was not just a concept that we put up, it was rather a philosophy that we tried to show. There are around 5,000 spots in our own network and 5,000 spots across 40 odd channels. We have 100-odd print ads - a combination of one-pagers and impact ads and so on. On radio we are advertising across 12 radio stations. We continue to be active on digital and a better Big Boss app would also be available for downloads soon. The focus is on television so that we can reach as many eople as possible. The theme of 'aow and Wow' have been taken across all mediums," "pointed out Rajesh Iyer, Vice President, Marketing, Colors.

The 8 promos have been on air for the last four weeks. Each of the promos feature host Salman Khan in a double role - as that of a devil and of an angel. The concept of 'Jahannum ka aow aur jannat ka wow' have been showcased in each of them. While one promo shows the actor is being lovingly fed grapes by beautiful apsaras under a tree and hit hard by a coconut by his devil counterpart, in another one he'll be seen under a waterfall with his apsaras helping him brush, but not until his devilish equivalent makes an appearance by cunningly turning off the water! One of the promos has been created on the lines of the mythological concept of 'Samudra Manthan'. After the show starts, there will be episodic promos every day. After the launch, the show will build direct interactivity with audiences through the Colors website and a specially designed mobile app that will provide them with 24x7 unrestricted accesses to the ongoings inside the Big Boss house.

Speaking about the show, Manisha Sharma, Weekend Programming Head, Colors, said," When it comes to Big Boss, it is critical that we test different themes, concepts and formats that can thoroughly engage contestants while making for an all-round entertainment experience for the audience."

Big Boss this year too will be set in Lonavla, where the 14 celebrity contestants will stay without mobile phones and laptops for 104 days. Specially crafted and designed elements will ensure that the contestants are always on their A-game. Host Salman Khan would be watching their every move through the week.

"It is interesting to host the show because if the contestants have had an exciting week, I get to do an exciting show. If nothing happens there, I cannot make it sound exciting. But this year, I am sure the viewers will have a heavenly experience and the contestants will have a hell of a ride," pointed out Khan.

Sohini.Sen@BestMediaInfo.com

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