Re-entering the ‘Bigg Boss’ house creeped me out (but it was a brief feeling)

On my way to the Bigg Boss house in Lonavla, I was reminded of an eerie passage from the novel Austerlitz that tells the harrowing account of a man in search of his past. WG Sebald writes, “It seems to me then as if all the moments of our life occupy the same space, as if future events already existed and were only waiting for us to find our way to them at last, just as when we have accepted an invitation we duly arrive in a certain house at a given time.”

In 2015, when Scroll.in was invited to the Bigg Boss house for the first time, I went with the wide-eyed curiosity of a skeptic. The assembled journalists were asked to play act the role of reality show contestants and were locked inside the house for a day. Before I could bolt, I was in. Over 70 cameras were trained on us. I survived knowing even less of my fellow inmates.

As I re-entered the house, memories of the previous experience did not allay my fears. It was still the same house with the same garishly painted walls and rooms. Gold-coloured lanterns were hanging from ceilings and the floors were lined with exotic rugs. The large, chunky furniture and mirrored wall panels remained unchanged. This time, I had signed up for a walk through and not a daylong shindig.

In its tenth season, Bigg Boss features Salman Khan as the host and 14 contestants. The show will be aired from October 16 on the television channel, Colors.

Set designer Omung Kumar has tried to mute the palette this time and use deeper colours. Moroccan motifs on the lintels and the architectural styles of domes and minarets have been incorporated to create a false ceiling inside the house. A giant clock with stopped time is displayed in the barricaded lawn leading to the structure. There is a Daliesque humour about the surreal setting. A big bed to accommodate seven people has been placed in the bedroom, evoking the domestic habits of the seven dwarves from the Snow White fairytale.

A jacuzzi has been built inside the spacious bathroom and a prison cell has been erected on the lawn, complete with two cots and a dingy toilet. A mural in the dining area is painted in ultramarine blue, depicting a stone staircase that resembles a set piece from the movie Saawariya (2007). Kumar was the art director for the film.

At first glance, the colourful assemblage of the Bigg Boss house looks exciting, but when the idea of its inhabitants begins to take shape, the pleasant environment can reflect the storm that is coming. “The horror! The horror!” I thought. Once the 14 contestants settle in, no one will care for the beautifully manicured lawn and the gorgeous red velvet-draped confession room. Viewers will tune in for the shrill fights and the faux drama.

Seven aspirants selected through a nationwide audition will compete with seven celebrities for the top prize. They will have to survive over a 100 days in the house, taking on tasks and challenges to win audience votes.

The house will be dismantled once the show ends. And just like that, another edifice will rise up from the rubble, looking no different from the previous one because Bigg Boss says so.