Toofani seniors to challengers: Despite using these tactics Bigg Boss 14 couldn't make a mark this season

The curtains are about to go down on this season’s Bigg Boss 14 in two days. The current season, which had the theme of ‘Ab Scene Paltega’, is one of the longest seasons – counting 140 days on Sunday. But did the ‘scene’ change, or was it able to change anything? We doubt. While fights, grueling tasks, abusing each other are part and parcel of the reality show, this season the contestants’ agenda seems to be knowingly ‘creating content’ for audience. But did it impress us? With Rubina Dilaik, Aly Goni, Rahul Vaidya, Rakhi Sawant and Nikki Tamboli making their spot inl the Top 5, let’s take a look at all the strategies applied to make it an entertaining season, but unfortunately didn’t quite make a mark.

The season started with three popular Bigg Boss contestants entering the show as Seniors to ‘confirm’ contestants’ place in the house. Gauahar Khan, Sidharth Shukla and Hina Khan tried their best to engage the contestants but their strategy fell flat as none of the contestants opened up thinking – ‘The Seniors will soon leave the house’. Audiences too complained and opined that Bigg Boss 14 looks like they are watching Bigg Boss 13 in repeat as Sidharth Shukla’s presence over shadowed it all. Their presence also resulted in Punjabi singer Sara Gurpal’s exit, which later claimed ‘unfair’.

Bigg Boss 14 brought a new twist to the show by introducing six former contestants as the ‘Challengers’ — Rakhi Sawant, Rahul Mahajan, Arshi Khan, Kashmera Shah, Manu Punjabi and Vikas Gupta. They entered the house to spike the show's entertainment quotient. Did they make it interesting? It just looked a hotchpotch of all the previous seasons. Though the challengers did liven up the show a bit, but definitely audiences weren’t interested in seeing the game of former contestants as it still didn’t change the existing contestants’ game. Everyone stooped down to just abuse each other and claim ‘I know all’.

The number of entry and exits that has happened in the show is uncountable. In the Covid-19 pandemic, while precautions have been taken by creating glass zones for guests, quarantine room and green-red zones, makers tried many tactics to keep the game interesting. Nikki Tamboli, Rahul Vaidya, Vikas Gupta and Aly Goni’s re-entry to Manu Punjabi’s unannounced exit to Kavita Kaushik’s walk out… confused audience into thinking – If voting matters at all? Many former contestants spoke up opining that the Bigg Boss 14 house has turned into a resort with anybody and everybody entering and exiting as per their own will.

This season Bigg Boss introduced a new area – red zone and green zone. While the nation has been accustomed to these words owing to the pandemic, the makers tried to infuse it in the game too. But what resulted in was nasty and ugly fights, arguments among contestants – as red zone are housed inmates who are not safe in a game and may get evicted. They tried hard to break out of the house and again it created confusion and commotion.

While physical violence is absolutely intolerable in the house, this season saw severe fights, age-shaming, body-shaming and angst among contestants. Vikas pushing Arshi in the pull, Arshi’s filthy language, age-shaming Eijaz Khan to Jasmin’s constant nagging – BB14 at times have given some cringe content making you wonder what have we signed up for.

While you create strategies to win a game, Nikki Tamboli went a step ahead when she hid a mask in her pants! She was up against Rahul Vaidya in the task and found no other strategy. She even got schooled for her indecent act. Rakhi’s over-possessive act by getting Abhinav’s name on her body was considered to be entertaining, while audiences totally felt she went overboard in the name of ‘Entertainment’. Jasmin Bhasin’s constant nagging and crying at the drop of her hat to Devoleena breaking property and forcefully stuffing food in Arshi Khan’s mouth – is not Entertainment that Bigg Boss is known for.

Owing to numerous entry and exits, Bigg Boss 14 seemed like an open court where contestants were being judged for their doings outside the house. Bringing in gossip and who said what, who tweeted what outside the house – seems to be major focus in the house. The house which once strictly boasted of not letting in outside news in the house, it was a free arena this season where contestants seemed to have lost the plot.

The entire season has been how to destroy the opponent team’s game or to abort a game rather than focusing on winning a game. Bigg Boss even showed a video to the contestants and shamed them for just chilling in the house – doing nothing! Bigg Boss schooled the ‘Big names in the industry’ that the audiences are seeing them as just lazing around in the house.