Bigg Boss is all set to return while Salman Khan will be back as the host for Season 19, he won’t be the only one leading the show this time.
As per a recent SCREEN report, Bigg Boss 19 will premiere on August 29 and 30, and is expected to run for a record 5.5 months, making it the longest Bigg Boss season ever.
Salman Khan returns, but his hosting duties are limited to the first three months. Bollywood stars like Farah Khan, Karan Johar, and Anil Kapoor are expected to step in, either individually or in rotation. A source close to the production revealed, “Like every year, the makers are planning to bring in different celebrities as special hosts. After Salman finishes his three-month-long stint, makers will bring in Farah Khan, Karan Johar, and Anil Kapoor to step in as hosts.”
Also Read: Is Apoorva Mukhija Entering Bigg Boss 19? Here’s What We’re Hearing
In another major shift, Bigg Boss 19 will be digital-first, with episodes dropping first on JioCinema, followed by their TV premiere on Colors with a 1.5-hour delay The source added, “The makers are making this season as a digital-first property. This means the show will run simultaneously on TV and OTT; however, the fresh episodes will drop on Jio Hotstar first, and after one and a half hours, the same episode will appear on Colors TV.”
The casting process is underway, with contracts being sent out and auditions progressing quickly. The season will reportedly feature 15 initial contestants and 3–5 wild card entries. Some of the tentative contestants approached so far include, Lataa Saberwal, Ashish Vidyarthi, Ram Kapoor, Gautami Kapoor, Dheeraj Dhoopar, Alisha Panwar, Munmun Dutta, Anita Hassanandani, Khushi Dubey, Gaurav Taneja, Apoorva Mukhija, Chinki Minki, Purav Jha, Krishna Shroff, Mr Faisu, Kanika Mann, Raj Kundra, Daisy Shah, Arshifa Khan, Tanushree Dutta, Sharad Malhotra, Mamta Kulkarni, Paras Kalnawat and Mickey Makover.
