Former Bigg Boss contestant reveals how paid PRs change the game on social media
There are paid publicists to spread rumours about other contestants.
I really feel the public relations managers of Bigg Boss 11 contestants are doing a wonderful job. Yes, these celebrities have real fans — I can’t deny that. But the professional support on social media is very evident this season.
This has no doubt been one hell of a roller-coaster season. Controversial and entertaining. This obviously worked wonders for the TRPs. The fight between Shilpa Shinde and Vikas Gupta was the trigger and then there was no stopping the show. Hina Khan made uncalled-for comments about television actresses. Then there were outrageous characters like Arshi Khan and Akash Dadlani. For that matter, even Priyank Sharma created a lot of buzz. It seemed they are oblivious of the cameras.
As a former contestant, I felt that we, in our season, used to take both tasks and captaincy more seriously. I initially missed watching that competitive spirit in Bigg Boss 11. But later, after host Salman Khan reprimanded them for their casual approach towards tasks, I think the contestants got the energy back.
The controversy over Vikas Gupta and Shilpa Shinde, I felt, was too stretched. It pushed other contestants into the background. Only the two of them know what actually happened between them. We are not in a position to decide who was right or wrong. As the saying goes, it takes two to tango. Or, others must have been responsible for whatever happened between them.
In the end, the two have emerged as the most probable winners of the show. Either will definitely win this season. Their journey inside the house has been spectacular. From the day they came in, to their fight, to this finale week – the two have matured a lot.
I do not feel Vikas needs the channel authorities to pull strings to make him the winner. He is very capable of winning the show on his own. He has enough fans and, after all, he is the mastermind in the house.
He understands the tasks well, comes up with a plan and executes it. He also understands how others are going to play. Keeping all these things in mind and playing your cards accordingly is not easy.
Another housemate who really impressed me is Puneesh Sharma. I really liked the way he played in the last two weeks. He changes his stance from time to time, but that is required in the game. He does what he wants to. He stands for what he feels is right. He took Vikas’s side and then turned to Shilpa's. He can’t be blamed for that as it was his strategy and it worked so well that he is there in top four now. I will be very happy if he wins.
Talking about paid publicity, this is not new. When I went inside the Bigg Boss house, I too had a publicist to handle my social media accounts, not for slamming other contestants on social media. It was an altogether different issue that my mom fired the publicist soon, as nothing great was being done.
But yes, there are paid PRs. It's quite evident that whatever we are seeing on social media this season has not been carried out only by fans. I won’t take any name but after I was eliminated from Bigg Boss 9, I checked social media and found out how some publicity officials manipulated the narrative.
This is true for the current season too. I think many of the housemates have PRs and they are deftly handling the social media presence of the contestants.
(As told to Poulomi Ghosh.)