Bigg Boss 8: Highlights of this season

Post Salman Khan’s sudden exit from Bigg Boss 8, filmmaker Farah Khan was roped in to host the Bigg Boss Halla Bol series. Ever since, there has been a lot of speculation about season 9.Now, according to a Missmalini.com report, sources informed that the upcoming season won’t see any new contestants; rather, it will have all the past winners from the previous seasons. The report further added that the likes of Rahul Roy, Ashutosh Kaushik, Vindoo Dara Singh, Shweta Tiwari, Juhi Parmar, Urvashi Dholakia, Gauhar Khan and Gautam Gulati could all be a part of season 9 and that the idea was suggested by Kashmera Shah.Only time will reveal the surprises in store. Till then, take a look at the highlights of Bigg Boss 8 and how Gautam Gulati went on to become the winner of the season.

Bigg Boss Halla Bol: Gautam Gulati declared winner
The five month wait for TV heartthrob and Diya Aur Baati Hum actor Gautam Gulati finally came to an end on Saturday. Gautam, a favourite with viewers, won Bigg Boss Halla Bol, beating Karishma Tanna. The actor took home the prize money of Rs 50 lakh and the Bigg Boss trophy.

Sources inform that Gautam was pitted against Karishma Tanna and Pritam in the top three. However, in an interesting twist of events, all the top three contestants were offered Rs 25 lakh and Pritam, who was also considered as one of the strongest contestants, took the prize money and decided to quit the show. Thus, Gautam won the show leaving behind Karishma Tanna as the second runner-up.

The stage of Bigg Boss Halla Bol will turn into a dance set, a courtroom and a salon for the final episode of the reality TV show. As the show inches closer to its finale with the top five contestants - Karishma Tanna, Gautam Gulati, Pritam Singh, Dimpy and Ali Quli Mirza - a lot of special treats and grilling sessions are planned for the contestants. The house will turn into a salon to style the finalists. Item queen Malaika Arora Khan has also been roped in to increase the temperature with her sizzling performance. Actress Sonakshi Sinha will also interact with the contestants. The Bigg Boss house will also transform into the set of television show Aap Ki Adalat where Rajat Sharma will grill the contestants. The show makers have also planned a dose of adventure with Rohit Shetty performing some daring stunts to promote upcoming season of Khatron Ke Khiladi - Darr Ka Blockbuster Returns, which he will be hosting.

Here's taking a look at other key highlights of this season of the reality show.

Ajaz Khan entered the Bigg Boss house yet again. This time he was not a Challenger, but a guest and will stay in the House till the show's finale on January 31, 2015. Ajaz Khan had ealier entered the Bigg Boss house as a Challenger and things got heated up, he was seen targeting Ali Quli Mirza which led to him being ousted from the show after things turned ugly between them.

Dimpy Ganguly calls Sambhavna Seth a prostitute?:
Looks like Dimpy was adamant on initiating another fight with Sambhavna Seth after their last fight. The squabble went a step ahead when Sambhavna pushed Dimpy. During their lash out, Dimpy called Sambhavna ‘Deoo’ which she claims is another word for prostitute. In her defense, Dimpy said that she only meant to say ‘giver’ but the word has been intentionally misconstrued by Sambhavna to gain attention and publicity. Sambhavna got offended by Dimpy’s remark and demanded that she be called into the confession room. Later she packed her bags and was seen banging the door of the Bigg Boss house saying that if they did not let her out, she might end up beating Dimpy severely.

Rahul Mahajan evicted:
Sources inform that the makers of Bigg Boss brought in Rahul with a hope that he will spice up the show as his estranged wife Dimpy Mahajan is already in the house as one of the contestants. However, Rahul failed to grab eyeballs and was thus eliminated from the show. He was seen leaving the house on January 25, 2015.

According to a report in Bombay Times, Bigg Boss organised a date for the new couple in the House, Upen Patel and Karishma Tanna, as well as estranged couple Rahul Mahajan and Dimpy Ganguly. Apparently, the men got a chance to buy a gift for their respective partners, the report stated. The report further stated that Upen bought a ring for Karishma, while Rahul chose a saree for Dimpy. Quoting a source the report said that Rahul was reminded of Dimpy's wedding attire after looking at the saree. Apparently, Upen Patel will be asked to leave the house immediately after the date, the report concluded.

According to a report on Filmsofindia.com, Salman, who had promised viewers that he will try and make a comeback for the grand finale of Bigg Boss Halla Bol, might go back on his own words. Apparently, the actor who is shooting under tight schedule for Bajrangi Bhaijaan, might not fulfill his promise because of the shoot, the report stated. Salman is currently in Mandawa, Rajasthan and will soon head to Kashmir for the next schedule, giving the Bigg Boss event a miss, read the report.

According to a report on Dnaindia.com, Salman Khan decided to give a special gift to the entire crew of Bigg Boss 8. The report stated that Salman got extremely emotional on the last day of shooting the grand finale of the show. He had previously left a video message for the audiences and the contestants before leaving for his shoot. The report further stated that Salman gifted Being Human T-shirts to everyone on the sets - from the production members to the channel crew. Now that Salman is not around, the entire crew was seen wearing the T-shirts he's gifted them, the report concluded.

Dimpy values Gautam over Rahul:
According to a Hindustantimes.com report, Dimpy Mahajan confessed on national TV that she valued Gautam Gulati more than Rahul Mahajan. After a tiff with Gautam, Dimpy tries her best to placate him. She tell him that she believes he is a good guy and hence expects decent behaviour from him but Gautam still seems upset with her. However, later he seems to cool down and accepts Dimpy's expanation and also her apology. Dimpy was, at one point during the show, also heard telling Rahul Mahajan that since she had spent more time with Gautam in the Bigg Boss house as compared to the time spent with Rahul, she would consider Gautam a better friend than Rahul.

Upen Patel proposes to Karishma Tanna: According to a report in Bollywoodlife.com, Upen Patel's unfinished task on Bigg Boss 8 was to propose Karishma Tanna. Upen has reportedly posed the question at Karishma when they were sitting on the bed together, holding hands. A source has been quoted in the report as saying that Upen has apparently told Karishma that he will put a ring on her finger the moment they were out of the house. The source further tells that Upen has told Karishma that he likes her irrespective of her behaviour. However, the source has been quoted as saying that Karishma seemed flummoxed by the proposal and though she claimed to not know how to react, she seemed to be quite comfortable with it. Upen also gifted her an Elie Saab perfume. Karishma has always maintained that she was in a relationship. However, it would be interesting to watch how the actress reacts now.

Bigg Boss 8: Ali dresses up as Gutthi

The entertainment quotient in tonight's episode of Bigg Boss 8 will take the show to an all new high as the Sharma family from Comedy Nights with Kapil is all set to enter the house. Sources from the sets of the show inform us that Gutthi asked Ali to dress up like her and Ali being a sport, was seen in Gutthi's avatar to entertain the audience. Ali was seen adapting Gutthi's trademark style and cracked many punches. It was very difficult to recongnise him as he resembled a lot like Gutthi. Both Gutthi and Ali also performed togther and Gutthi called Ali her shadow.

Bigg Boss 8: KSG, Gautam and Upen strip-tease for Bipasha

To celebrate Christmas in the Bigg Boss house, dusky beauty Bipasha Basu and Karan Singh Grover, her macho co-star from the movie Alone were invited as the special guests this season. To entertain the guests, Bigg Boss arranged a display of talent by all the housemates and it was called ‘Bigg Boss Got Talent Show’. As part of their performance, Gautam and Upen danced on the peppy song ‘Desi Boys’ from the super hit movie Desi Boyz. However, in the midst of their performance, Bipasha made a request to Gautam and Upen to dance shirtless. Initially, both the boys felt a little shy to do so before the beautiful Bipasha, but moments later they took the stage by storm with a strip-tease performance on Bips’ request. And to turn the heat up further, Bipasha Basu compelled Karan Singh Grover to go shirtless and get on stage along with Upen and Gautam.

With the handsome hunks performing shirtless, the temperatures must have surely soared in the Bigg Boss house this Christmas.

Praneet Bhatt: Salman Khan sends food for all the contestants, every Saturday

Praneet Bhatt, who was evicted from the reality show Bigg Boss 8 last night, says that he is a huge fan of the host of the show, Salman Khan, as he used to send food for all the contestants during Saturday's episode of Weekend Ka Vaar. "I am a huge fan of Mr. Salman Khan and I am mesmerised by him. We all use to anxiously wait for Saturday's episode as Salman Khan's energy is infectious. We felt motivated with all the positivity and we carried the energy from Monday to Friday. He's a very genuine and humble person. I've never seen a host who sends food for the contestants. He used to send food for all of us on every Saturday. We have limited food to eat in the Bigg Boss house and Salman sir was like a God for all of us during that time. He always updated us with what was happening outside the house," said Praneet, after his elimination.

Upen Patel abuses and instigates Gautam Gulati: As Pritam, Upen and Gautam enter the Hijack round of the immunity task, the rest of the housemates get ready to support their favourite contestant. However, after competing for a good amount of time, Pritam gives up and gets up from the seat. Upen then decides to go and irritate Gautam as this will result Karishma to win the immunity. Upen, who is supporting Karishma tries to discuss the strategies with her by whispering it in her ears. Gautam who is sitting beside tries to hear the conversation. Upen gets irked by this and starts abusing him. In order to further irritate Gautam, Upen starts abusing him in English, but Gautam doesn't seem to get affected by this and tells him to use Hindi language to abuse him. When Upen sees all his efforts going in vain, he taunts Gautam that he shouldn't talk as he has used Diandra for the game. He keeps taunting Gautam about this whenever Gautam opens his mouth.
With only Karishma and Gautam in the competition for the Hijack task, it will be interesting to see who wins the immunity.

Karishma Tanna can be mean at times. Another glimpse of the same was seen when Sonali refused to comply with the house rules. Despite repeatedly being asked to wear her mic, when Sonali continued to get decked up, Karishma couldn't take it any longer and lashed out on Sonali. She chose to comment on how Sonali kept begging for clothes and cosmetics from everyone around. When Sonali asked her to mind her own business, Karishma reminded her that the person she always came running to was her. To which a rather offended Sonali retorted that she will never again ask Karishma for any favours.

Rahul Mahajan in Bigg Boss 8:

The show is gearing up to witness a grand party in the house as a part of the luxury budget task. And guess who would be attending the bash, it's none other than Bigg Boss season 2 contestant Rahul Mahajan. During the luxury budget task, all the housemates are divided into two groups and are assigned a task wherein they are supposed to invite the who's who of the entertainment business. Gautam Gulati invites Rahul Mahajan for the party and reportedly the latter has accepted his invitation. The actor also went ahead to tweet about the same. He wrote, "Can't wait to meet my dear friend @TheGautamGulati in #BB8 , any message you guys want me to pass it on to him ?" [sic]

It will be interesting to see Gautam's close friend Dimpy's reaction on Rahul's entry in the Bigg Boss house.

Bigg Boss 8: Salman Khan praises Pritam Singh

Pritam Singh's captaincy has been full of ups and downs and it has also become one of the most talked about captain-ship of the house. During his captaincy, viewers also witnessed the fall-out of the P3G group which forced the audience to take sides of their favorite contestants. Some believed that Pritam was unfair while others thought he did the right thing by punishing Puneet and Gautam. However, everyone was waiting for Salman's reaction on Pritam's captaincy. Salman not only praised Pritam but also told him that he was outstanding throughout the week.

Sources inform that Salman told Pritam that his image outside the house has been very good in the last week and that he should continue being the same. He also told him that he was outstanding. Gautam and Puneet didn't seem too happy listening this and their face fell.

Is this the end of P3G?

As the day begins, Praneet and Pritam are seen preparing for their captaincy task. Both are required to go on a campaigning spree convincing all the members of the house, one at a time, as to why they should vote for them. The housemates then vote through a secret ballot election procedure. Pritam, who is already immune from last week’s immunity task, was keen on making Praneet the captain until yesterday. However, after the announcement of the task, Pritam has a change of heart and wants to play a fair game. As the day progresses, Diandra and Gautam continue their romance while other housemates are seen strategizing and plotting against each other every now and then. The housemates become anxious with the time for nominations approaching.

Bigg Boss summons Pritam into the confession room launching the nominations procedure and asks him to give five names he thinks should be nominated this week. Those names will then be directly nominated for the week. As an interesting twist, Bigg Boss lets housemates watch what Pritam has to say through Me TV. The housemates are left dumbstruck and confused when Pritam is seen nominating Puneet. Gautam is also taken aback while Puneet tries to calm himself down. Pritam states that people feel he is influenced by Puneet, and that is why he is nominating him and putting an end to this thought.

When Pritam comes out of the confession room, Upen tells him that it was all shown to the housemates. Pritam says that whatever he has done is right. Gautam feels that Pritam has betrayed P3G. Praneet tries to understand Pritam’s point of view, but Puneet seems to be in no mood for any kind of explanation. All the other housemates keep mum about Pritam’s revelations, but some are surely very happy about it. This start of the brand new week in the house is an intriguing one, as one will see friendships and relations being tested to the core. Who will pass and who will fail? We will have to wait and watch.

For the first time in the reality show, the makers introduced the concept of a secret society which consisted of Deepshikha Nagpal, Puneet Issar and RJ Preetam Pyaare. At the beginning of the season, these three members of the secret society were given special powers to control the fate of the rest of the contestants. Also in the very first week, Sonali Raut had to exit the show as she was nominated by everyone, however her unexpected re-entry into the show left everyone shocked. It was indeed a first for the show and surprisingly a very interesting twist.

Bigg Boss has always been home to mean fights and back biting. And in this season, the end of first week was very eventful. Everyone in the house was given the first team task where one team would try to capture seats from the other team. The sportive spirit of the game took a rather unexpected turn when Deepshikha's team began chafing chili powder and paste on the faces and bodies of the members of the other team. Gautam Gulati couldn't take it anymore and his rage of outburst showed up when he abused Karishma. However Gautam later pleaded for forgiveness, but for now the two are not great friends.

Aarya Babbar became one of the highlights of the show. The actor revealed about his alleged affair with Minissha Lamba on the show. Both were contestants on Bigg Boss 8 and Aarya spoke openly about his personal life on national television. Apparently, Aarya had asked Minissha to fake romance on the show but she had turned it down and discussed it with the inmates. And when host Salman Khan questioned the two about the same, Aarya revealed that they had been in a relationship earlier, however he later apologized to Minissha for speaking about their past.

Several celebrities visit the sets of this popular show to promote their film. However Hrithik Roshan was the one who entertained a lot with his quick presence on the show. While initially Hrithik was not going to make any appearances on television shows for promotions, he decided otherwise for Bigg Boss. As a part of promotions for Bang Bang, he gave the contestants a challenge to walk over a pile of broken glass. Hrithik Roshan also treated all the contestants with some amazing cupcakes and a royal dinner. He spent the afternoon enjoying with the contestants of the house.

Bigg Boss house always celebrates festivals with great enthusiasm. And this year too, the festival of Diwali was one of the biggest highlights of the season. Salman Khan made a rather dramatic entry in the house. Also present on the occasion was renowned magician Hussain Rizvi. The contestants seemed to have a great time with Salman Khan who played truth and dare with them. What followed were special gifts for everyone from their families. However the gifts didn't end there as the generous host had brought personalized 'Being Human' goodie bags too for all the contestants. This was followed by some great dance as Salman Khan enthusiastically shook a leg with everyone.

Dimpy Mahajan had tied the knot with Rahul Mahajan who is an ex-contestant from the reality show. However after four years of togetherness, the duo filed for divorce and Dimpy entered the Bigg Boss house as a wild-card entrant. According to a report on dna.com, Dimpy had been discussing her marriage and impending divorce. The report further stated that Dimpy wanted to move out of the emotional turmoil that she was facing and hence the reality show.

Renee is a popular contestant from the reality show Roadies, she had come across as a strong contender there too. And in the Bigg Boss house, Renee comes across as a bit aggressive contestant and has formed good friendship with Upen Patel in the house. However, recently she surprised everyone with a rather bold statement on national television. Salman Khan who comes on the show during weekends was seen mocking at her, and Renee said, "I want to kill you Salman for this." According to a report on timesofindia.com, another contestant Nigaar Khan made an effort to control the situation.