Sena threat behind Colors blackout?

Some cable operators in the suburbs have blocked the channel; say Sena has issued verbal threats because of its objection to Pakistani artistes in Bigg Boss

Shiv Sena's continued protests over the inclusion of two Pakistani artistes on Bigg Boss 4 may have led to some cable operators in the city blocking the Colors channel from viewers' television sets.

Cable operators in Santacruz, Jogeshwari, Malad and Kandivli said that the channel was blocked around 9 pm yesterday because of alleged threats from the Shiv Sena.

Actress Veena Malik and talk show host Ali Saleem are the two Pakistani residents participating in Bigg Boss 4

"Shiv Sena workers are going to the offices of cable operators and asking them to stop airing Colors.
They threatened us verbally and said that we better comply with their demands. Many cable operators decided to do so fearing dire consequences," said an official from a leading cable operator agency in the city.
A Colors spokesperson confirmed that a few cable operators have blocked the channel in certain parts of the city.

He said that he feared many other cable operators would temporarily block the channel during the time the show is aired.

No official threat, however, has been issued by the Sena. Bharat Kumar Raut, Sena spokesperson, said, "I do not know anything about the issue."

The Big Fight

Actress, model and comedian Veena Malik and talk show host Ali Saleem, best known for his alter ego, Begum Nawazish Ali, are the two Pakistani residents of the Bigg Boss house whom the Sena wants ousted.


Khali in Bigg Boss 4


Come Saturday, October 16, and Punjab-born 38-year-old WWE wrestler Dalip Singh Rana, better known as The Great Khali, will enter the Bigg Boss House. He was signed this week by Colors after long negotiations with his managers. Coincidentally, the episode that has Salman Khan interviewing this week’s eliminated contestant, will air at 9 pm, alongside the first episode of Akshay Kumar’s cookery show Masterchef India on Star Plus.

Khali, who weighs 190 kgs, may be provided with a double bed to accommodate his 7 feet 3 inch frame. Apparently, even the toilet seats are being changed to make the wrestler’s life easy inside the House.
Our source from the channel confirms the news and says, “Right now, the housemates are discontent with the amount of food supplied. No one gets more than two chapattis in a meal because quantities depend on how well they perform their weekly tasks. Khali may have a problem because he is not used to eating such measly portions.”

The one-time World Heavyweight Champion has already appeared in three Hollywood and two Bollywood films. Andrew Whitaker, executive vice president, WWE International, says that the organisation is elated about Khali’s entry into the show: “People have seen him fight. Now, they will see a vulnerable side to him. We  hope he wins.”

Bigg Boss 4 parts away Sara and Ali

Season 4 of Bigg Boss being hosted by Salman Khan has started showing its other side of the coin which results in fights and break ups. On day 5 in the Bigg Boss house, the renowned TV actress Sara Khan(Sadhna in Bidaai) was noticed tearing off her beau Ali Merchant’s photos.

It’s strange that Sara did so as when Sara was entering the Bigg Boss house, Ali was the only person there to bid her good-bye on the stage. Then what made the lady so angry on Ali that she didn’t even wanted to keep the good memories with her and torn them?

When Veena and Sakshi praised Ali’s good looks and asked Sara about her weird behavior, she said that only good looks cannot decide a relationship.

While we can easily make out that the actress is getting closer to Bollywood actor Ashmit Patel. So Sara, is that the reason of your ignorance towards Ali? Baby if it so then we must remind you that public loves you for your Sadhna’s character……..so do not step into Komolika’s shoes.



70 per cent Indians don’t want Pakistani strugglers in Bigg Boss 4, says IndiaWire poll


An sms poll conducted last week by online content company INDIAwire may sound like music to the ears of the Shiv Sena and the MNS in Maharashtra. About 70 per cent of respondents said that Pakistani inmates, model Veena Malik and drag queen Begum Nawazish Ali should not continue in Bigg Boss.

Says editor of Indiawire and poll-co-ordinator Flynn Remedios, ”After  protests by the Shiv Sena and the MNS against the participation of  the Pakinstani inmates, we decided to ask Indians for their feedback regarding the continued participation of Veena Malik and Ali in the popular reality show Bigg Boss 4. About 5000 sms messages were sent to media persons, bollywood actors, models and other professionals like lawyers, doctors, journalists etc. The results were surprising: almost 70 per cent of the respondents said that they would not like the two inmates to continue in the Bigg Boss house. Since we assured our respondents of anonymity, we will not mention names, but a bollywood actress said, ‘Let Colours and Endemol conduct the same show in Pakistan with Indians in the house and see the result. There will be a hue and cry against the show if conducted in Pakistan.’“ Several actors were also critical of the choice of inmates.

The reasons for these unanimous and undisputed results were as follows: The two participants from Pakistan are not big celebrities. One is a transvestite, or cross dresser or trans-gender (difficult to really fathom which) and another is an out of work actor.  Had the Pakistani participants been stalwarts or professionals or celebrity actors etc., probably the results would have been different, opined Flynn Remedios.

 Indian actors and professionals from various fields are upset and angry over the choice of inmates in general. And particularly after seeing the footage of super chor, Bunty  “India has so much talent. Why couldn’t they get some ‘better’ candidates? India is not just dakus and chors. Doctors, scientists, politicians etc are also entertaining.”


Mission Eviction of Pakistani participants: Bigg Boss 4


Mumbai: Maharashtra’s Navnirman Sena has set on in its new mission -Eviction of Pakistani participants from Bigg Boss House at Lonavla.

However, tight security was kept on the Maharashtra hill station by the metro police in the main town square, Bhushi Dam, the approach-exit roads to the Mumbai-Pune Expressway and the old Mumbai-Pune highway, besides other important tourist spots.

As a consequence, road and rail traffic on Mumbai sector remained unaffected. Also the Channel authority remained unperturbed about the protest and continued with the telecast.

The Shiv Sena Party spokesperson and legislator Neelam Gorhe even threatened of making demonstrations and processions to the bungalow to disrupt the shoot.

The Pune district collector has served a show cause notice to Colors channel, asking why the show should not be stopped since it is creating law and order issues in the famous hill station.

The protest is made around two participants of Pakistani origin actress Veena Malik and TV show host Ali Saleem who dons the persona of Begum Nawazish Ali.

Other participants include TV actress Sweta Tiwari, Sarah Khan, Bhojpuri star Manoj Tiwari, Mahesh Bhatt’s son Rahul , bandit queen Seema Parihar and others.

With all such controversies what does the channel expect with the TRPs?



OOH for Colors with the launch of Bigg Boss Season 4  
 
The campaign which commenced on 26th September 2010 had an overriding objective to launch the show with a bang and announce Salman Khan as the new host for this season

 General Entertainment channel COLORS launched its mega reality show- Bigg Boss Season 4 on 3rd October 2010. The show is being aired everyday at 9pm. To garner more eyeballs, Primesite has carried out a series of OOH campaign wherein aggressive brand push and innovations have been implemented, leaving an indelible impact on its Target Group.

The campaign which commenced on 26th September 2010 had an overriding objective to launch the show with a bang and announce Salman Khan as the new host for this season. To amplify this message, the campaign focused on creating impact by plastering each city with larger format billboards & huge numbers of different media vehicles to build frequency. To do so, Primesite has deployed the campaign on key arterial routes and junctions as well and has used multiple creative’s to communicate key messages.

To break through the clutter, Primesite came up with two innovations - One being the moving 'Bigg Boss' Roving Eye on a billboard which was put up 4 days prior to the actual campaign roll out. This has been executed at 2 prime locations in Mumbai - Mahim causeway & Juhu. These successfully helped in building intrigue amongst its end consumers. Further to create further buzz, a Bigg Boss Sample Flat was created on a billboard which gave a feel of the Bigg Boss house being built on it. To make it look more realistic, a balcony was created which housed a man on the billboard. Basic requirements like water, table, chair, fan, newspaper were all provided to the person who lived in the sample flat for 5 days.

The objective of executing such innovation was to show a man living in the Bigg Boss house & that the world can keep an eye on every move of his. To magnify this effort & to create that additional buzz around it, COLORS initiated a three- day radio contest on various FM channels. It talked about spot the House billboard and the winner gets an opportunity to visit the sets of the actual Bigg Boss House.

Different media vehicles such as Billboards, BQS, Designer Bus queue shelters, Gantries, Utilities, Metro panels, Pole Kiosks etc have been used to drive promotions. These have been deployed at main arterial roads and busy traffic intersections in key GEC markets to attract maximum eyeballs.

Commenting on this initiative, Aneil Deepak, Sr. VP – Planning & Innovation, said, “This is the start of the busiest season in Out-of-Home. With noise levels at their loudest, the campaign needed to strike a chord with the commuters.  So we centered the OOH strategy around getting various elements of the Bigg Boss 4 property closer to the commuter. Hence, the Roving Eye and the Bigg Boss Sample Flat campaign.”

Speaking on the innovative marketing initiatives, Rajesh Iyer, Director - Marketing, COLORS said, “Bigg Boss is amongst the biggest and the most exciting shows on Indian television today; and with Salman Khan as the host, the 360-degree marketing initiatives are also developed to create high impact. The communication strategy is designed to fuel the curiosity and create buzz till the show goes on air and also sustain post launch interest.”

... as ‘Bigg Boss 4’ pips the Games to the ratings post
October 11, 10

Khushboo Tanna 

In the past month, both the Commonwealth Games and ‘Bigg Boss - Season 4’ were pretty much omnipresent in the media, albeit for different reasons. While the media focused on the controversies and corruption surrounding the CWG, they were all praise for the promotions for ‘Bigg Boss 4’, which is hosted by Salman Khan.

‘Bigg Boss 4’ debuted the same day of the Games’ opening ceremony – on October 3, 2010. While the opening ceremony started airing at 5.30 pm on DD1 and DD Sports, ‘Bigg Boss 4’ started airing at 9 pm on Colors.

As per the data released by TAM, the opening ceremony of CWG received a TVR of 1.85 on DD1 and 1.43 TVR on DD Sports (C&S 4+, Market - Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata).

‘Bigg Boss 4’ opened with a rating of 6.01 TVR (C&S 4+, Market - Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata), the highest ever opening for the reality show. Season 1 of ‘Bigg Boss’ had got a TVR of 3.61 TVR (C&S 4+, Market - Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata); Season 2 got a TVR of 2.79 (C&S 4+, Market - Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata); and 5.42 TVR for Season 3 (C&S 4+, Market - Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata). The first season was telecast on Sony Entertainment and was hosted by Arshad Warsi. The subsequent seasons were telecast on Colors and were hosted by Shilpa Shetty, Amitabh Bachchan, and now Salman Khan.

Commenting on these numbers, Sushma Y Jhaveri, Senior VP, Carat Media India, said that while the ‘Bigg Boss 4’ TVRs were very good, she doubted if one had expected better than these numbers for CWG. “The inaugural night of CWG was not that publicised in terms of content, whereas enough airtime was spent publicising ‘Bigg Boss’ and Salman Khan,” she added.

Similarly, Avinash Pillai, National Buying Head, Mediacom, also felt that the timing for ‘Bigg Boss’ was perfect considering that it had just started airing, and after the success of ‘Dabangg’, audiences would tune in to watch Salman. “The interesting promos also drew in a lot of audience,” he said, adding, “However, the ratings for the episodes where Salman will not be present are bound to be a little lower.”

He also felt that the ratings for CWG were extremely good and that these numbers were significantly higher than the average ratings that the shows on DD got. “A lot of new audience wanted to see the CWG opening ceremony and these people are not the regular audience for DD,” he noted. Supporting that, Pillai added that the C&S audience only minimally tuned into DD (maybe for cricket matches) as they had a plethora of other choices available.

However, he added, the advertisers’ interest in CWG is quite low as they have preferred to stay away from the event due to the negative publicity.


Bigg Boss 4: First elimination list

After much hype and anticipation, Bigg Boss 4 finally started its journey last Sunday with host Salman Khan on Colors, welcoming all the 14 contestants to the house. This year, the Bigg Boss house is full of some of the most controversial members. It has a mixed group of people starting from a lawyer to the former Bandit queen. ‘Bunty Chor’ was already kicked out of the house in day one, due to his misbehavior with Bigg Boss and the inmates.

Seema Parihar, the former Bandit queen and ‘Bunty Chor’ aka Devender Singh were the first nominations for the elimination round. However, as per the rules of Bigg Boss, two nominations are needed for the elimination round. But now, after Bunty got eliminated it was only Seema Parihar who was on the elimination list.

Bigg Boss, however, has put forward four name on the elimination list, Seema Parihar, Hrishant Goswami, lawyer Abbas Kazmi and television actress Sara Khan. The names for thr elimination was chosen entirely on the voting of the inmates of the Bigg Boss house.
Now, let's wait and watch who among the four will be the first one to be voted out of Bigg Boss by the audience.

Salman gets Underground Authority to ‘Bigg Boss 4′

Bollywood star Salman Khan, who hosts reality show “Bigg Boss 4″, seems to be smitten by aspiring rock band Underground Authority as he has given them a chance to be associated with the show.

The band will perform in the “Aakhri Salaam” special of the show every Saturday.

“The appreciation that we received from Salman Khan during our performance in ‘India’s Got Talent Khoj 2′ was overwhelming. It feels great to perform on ‘Bigg Boss 4′,” said Underground Authority in a statement.
“We are practising day in and day out. We are really charged up to present our talent once again in front of Salman. Hope we will have a gala time performing, as much as the viewers will have watching the show. We are eagerly looking forward to it,” the statement said.

The five-member band was a finalist in Colors’ reality show “India’s Got Talent Khoj-2″.






Abbas Kazmi out of Bigg Boss 4

The most eagerly watched show on television currently, COLORS' Bigg Boss season 4 has got its first evictee. And it's none other than Abbas Kazmi, the ex-lawyer of 26/11 accused Mohammed Ajmal Kasab.
Kazmi was nominated along with three other contestants- television actress Sara Khan, model Hrishant Goswami and dacoit Seema Parihar.

In spite of being the oldest contestant on the show, Kazmi got along well in the house and other housemates. Abbas Kazmi enjoyed working out in the gym including a regular dip in the wave pool. He helped with the household work as well, though took offence when the job assigned to him was done by someone else at times and by default he we was taken off that responsibility.

Contrary to the perception of a senior criminal lawyer, Kazmi loved to talk! He could debate endlessly for hours together, his favourite topics obviously being his experiences on the infamous Kasab case.
It's been one week, and Kazmi is out of Bigg Boss season 4 house. We wonder who's next in line to be voted out of the house!




Bigg Boss 4 : Salman generating more TRPs than Big B

Salman Khan who is still basking in the success of Dabangg seems to have another hit to his kitty. Donning the hat of an anchor for the second time, Salman again proves his popularity among audiences. Report shows that the previous season of Big Boss that was anchored by Big B didn’t receive such high [...]

Bigg Boss 4 : Abbas Kazmi is out from Bigg Boss Season 4
Abbas Kazmi is out from Bigg Boss’s House. He was one of the housemates of Bigg Boss season 4. This week four people were nominated for eviction Abbas Kazmi, Seema Parihar, Sara Khan and Hrishant Goswami.

Bigg Boss 4 : Eviction Nomination of Week 1, Abbas Kazmi, Seema Parihar, Sara Khan and Hrishant Goswami
Housemates of Bigg Boss Season 4  to nominate Abbas Kazmi, Seema Parihar, Sara Khan and Hrishant Goswami for Eviction of Bigg Boss House. So now battle for eviction is between Abbas Kazmi, Seema Parihar, Sara Khan and Hrishant Goswami.

Bigg Boss 4 : Surveen Chawla to make wild card entry
Television actress Surveen Chawla — who was last seen hosting Comedy Circus Ke Superstar on Sony Entertainment Television — is rumoured to be entering Bigg Boss 4, as a wildcard entrant. Surveen hails from Delhi. She made her TV debut in ‘Kahin Toh Hoga’ by Balaji Telefilms. She followed it up with ‘Kasautii Zindagi Kay’ [...]

Pune administration issued a show cause notice to the producers of Bigg BossPune district administration issued a show cause notice to the producers of the reality show Bigg Boss asking why shooting should not be stopped in the wake of potential law and order disturbances caused by the show. Additional collector R K Gaikwad told reporters that he had issued the notice in his capacity as the [...]

Shiv Sena attacks Bigg Boss HouseHundreds of Shiv Sainiks led by Shiv Sena MPs Gajanan Babar and Shivajirao Adhalrao Patil gatecrashed the house in Lonavala where reality show Bigg Boss 4 was being filmed on Friday afternoon. The mood outside the house was tense after news of the protest spread. The police did not take any chances — the house [...]

Bigg Boss 4 : Abbas Kazmi is out from Bigg Boss Season 4
Abbas Kazmi is out from Bigg Boss’s House. He was one of the housemates of Bigg Boss season 4. This week four people were nominated for eviction Abbas Kazmi, Seema Parihar, Sara Khan and Hrishant Goswami.

After Bigg Boss, Sameer Soni to wed Neelam
The house inmate Sameer Soni has revealed his plans to marry Neelam after his stint with the Bigg Boss. Model-turned-actor Sameer Soni has major plans after his stint on reality show Bigg Boss 4 – he will tie the knot with former actress and now jewellery designer Neelam Kothari and direct a movie. “People have [...]

Veena Malik breaks down on Bigg Boss 4
The drama of Bigg Boss 4 has not yet started when the Pakistani actress Veena Malik, voiced out her side of the story to add more spice to it. On Tuesday’s episode, she was seen clearly alleging her ex boyfriend Pakistani cricketer Mohammad Asif for the match fixing scandal. While talking to Shweta Tiwari about [...]
Shakshi Pradhan confident to win Bigg Boss Title
One of the contestants is Shakshi Pradhan who is a young glamorous girl and winner of MTV reality show ‘Splitsvilla’ season 2. She was introduced by Salman Khan, the host of the show, after her hot performance on a dance number. She had a fun-filled attitude just before she entered the Bigg Boss house on [...]

Bal Thackeray will not allow Bigg Boss 4 to continueWithin two days of its launch, the fourth edition of ‘Big Boss’ anchored by Bollywood star Salman Khan ran into trouble with Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray threatening to disrupt the popular reality show over the participation of two Pakistani artistes. Thackeray’s threat came even as police rounded up about 25 Shiv Sena activists for [...]

Bigg Boss 4 : Eviction Nomination of Week 1, Abbas Kazmi, Seema Parihar, Sara Khan and Hrishant Goswami
Housemates of Bigg Boss Season 4  to nominate Abbas Kazmi, Seema Parihar, Sara Khan and Hrishant Goswami for Eviction of Bigg Boss House. So now battle for eviction is between Abbas Kazmi, Seema Parihar, Sara Khan and Hrishant Goswami.

I asked mom before accepting ‘Bigg Boss 4′: Salman Khan

He has learned to take media gossip with a pinch of salt and now finds rumours amusing. Salman Khan, whose latest love is the small screen, says he will display his “unadulterated” side as the host of Colors’ “Bigg Boss 4″, a reality show he accepted only after consulting his mom.
“I asked mom (Salma) before considering it and she instantly said yes,” Salman, 44, told IANS in an e-mail interview from Mumbai. “I am going to be myself, 100 percent unadulterated Salman. I will call a spade a spade and have lots of fun,” he added.

The show started Sunday and has already run into controversy because of the presence of two Pakistani contestants.

Excerpts from the exclusive interview:

Q: Back as a host on the small screen with “Bigg Boss 4″ after hosting two seasons of “Dus Ka Dum” – has Salman Khan taken a fancy to TV or hosting reality shows?

A: You can say I have taken a fancy to TV or reality shows, but for me, my fans are most important. When I appear on TV, they don’t have to go out, buy tickets and watch the show. They can enjoy watching me on their television sets in the comfort of their homes for free. My family enjoys “Bigg Boss”; they discuss it all the time. I asked mom before considering it and she instantly said yes.

Q: So how different was it from “Dus Ka Dum”?

A: “Dus Ka Dum” was a game format, “Bigg Boss” is completely different. Here you can be more upfront, it has a lot to do with others’ actions as well as emotions.

Q: How are you going to add more spice to “Bigg Boss” considering the participants already promise the same thanks to their controversial track records?

A: I am going to be myself, 100 percent unadulterated Salman. I will call a spade a spade. I am a very straightforward person and I will not take any hypocrisy and politics lightly. For those housemates who play clean, they will always find their best friend in me. Those who don’t, be ready to expect the worst. But I can promise that viewers will have the most amazing time. They can expect as much fun outside the house as is expected inside.

Q: Any favourite contestant who you can bet your money on?

A: ‘Sab ek se badhkar ek hain boss’… this show is quite unpredictable, so you never know who manages to survive and who gets to meet me on Friday when the next eviction happens.

Q: You are sporting a completely cool look for the show. Did you contribute any inputs for the same?

A: Thank you, but all credit goes to Ashley Rebello and my sister Alvira (Agnihotri).

Q: What do you have to say about your controversies’-favourite-child tag in Bollywood?

A. Controversies are fuelled and at times created by the media. I don’t react to it and no one around me does either. Since I have come on Twitter, even my fans have stopped reacting to it as they have direct access to me.

Q. Do you think hosting reality shows has made you more comfortable both with the common man and the press?

A. I have always been comfortable with my fans. TV only helps me to be more accessible to them and we all have fun in the process. Regarding media, you guys discuss my life without even knowing it and I find it very amusing.

Q. Do we also see a third season of “Dus Ka Dum” some time in the future? What about the sequel to “Dabangg”?

A. I am currently working on “Ready”. Then we have two scripts for “Dabangg” and it could either be a prequel or a sequel. Regarding television, I am on “Bigg Boss” season four now and enjoying it a lot… will let you know what next on TV when I decide something.

Bunty Chor out of Bigg Boss 4

Devinder Singh alias Superchor Bunty has been asked to leave reality show " Bigg Boss 4" following unruly behaviour in the house on the first day itself.

Bunty entered the "Bigg Boss" house in Lonavala with 13 other contestants Saturday night and was asked to leave the show Sunday night.

"Bunty kept breaking all the rules and he kept sleeping throughout the day which is not allowed in the house. He even covered the cameras with socks and used abusive language against the 'Bigg Boss'. So he was asked to leave," a source from Colors told.

In fact, before leaving the house, he even tampered with the microphones, the source added.
During his stay, Bunty received the maximum number of votes when the "Bigg Boss" asked the contestants to nominate any one person. While the inmates thought the nomination was for eviction, Bunty was actually made the captain of the house.

However Bunty, who got the sobriquet of "superchor" for his compulsive and audacious thefts, kept flouting all the rules of the show.

"Bigg Boss" requires the contestants to survive in a house for three months without communicating with the outside world, and being under constant camera surveillance.
The launch episode of the show was aired Sunday night.

Bigg Boss 4 sex sirens: Shweta Tiwari and Sakshi Pradhan

Salman Khan, true to his promise, invaded our television sets sharp at 9 pm on the anticipated night of 3rd October lifting the veil off the faces of the Bigg Boss contestants. And the two names who have tickled the male fantasies in past involved the names of Shweta Tiwari and Sakshi Pradhan. Let’s have a glimpse:

1. Shweta Tiwari: She came under the spotlight in the garb of a decent, homely Indian woman in Ekta Kapoor’s ‘Kasauti Zindagi Ki’. However, pretty soon, she made it clear that she wasn’t exactly the coy domestic gal that she portrayed. She spawned some meaty headlines by starring in a slew of reality shows. Her split with her husband was almost telecast live by the concerned news channels but eyebrows really got raised (and something else as well) when she did that open bath-under-the-shower in ‘Is Jungle Se Mujhe Bachao’.








Wild days ahead on Bigg Boss 4!

Sukanya Verma in Mumbai

Like them or not, reality shows are here to stay. And it’s a definite in the case of the increasingly popular and unabashedly voyeuristic Bigg Boss, season 4.
After the likes of Arshad Warsi, Shilpa Shetty and Amitabh Bachchan, it’s Salman Khan’s turn to boost the show’s TRPs with his characteristic candour and cheek.
Currently high on the roaring response to Dabangg, the superstar was clearly in his element and appeared to be having a ball. Be it dancing to his chartbusting hits from Dabangg, Wanted and Bigg Boss 4’s brand new theme or plugging his latest success at every possible chance.
Often amused while observing the interactions inside the house, Chulbul Pandey kept the atmosphere fun and floored everyone even while confronting or teasing the celebrity housemates with uneasy questions.