Return of Bigg Boss Bangla

Bigg Boss Bangla is back on television after nearly a decade, with its third season premiering on Sunday. The Bengali reality show airs on Star Jalsha and is available for streaming on JioHotstar, as reported by ANI and The Economic Times. Former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly has taken charge as host for this season.

According to NewsX, the grand premiere aired on Sunday, with former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh also appearing during the launch episode alongside Ganguly. Regular episodes of the show air daily at 9:30 pm on Star Jalsha, and JioHotstar offers a 24×7 live feed for viewers to follow the housemates beyond the edited episodes.

The Contestants

The new season brings together 15 contestants from different fields, including actors, singers, a former footballer, entrepreneurs and social media personalities, as reported by ANI and The Economic Times. Actor Monami Ghosh was the first to enter the house, appearing dressed as Uma in a traditional white-and-red saree and dancing to her own song, with Durga Puja approaching.

Actor Bharat Kaul was the second entrant, followed by singer Durnibar Saha, who has won singing reality shows and later became a playback singer. Sohini Pal, daughter of late Bengali actor Tapas Pal, entered as the fourth contestant. YouTuber Niranjan Mondal, popularly known as Laughtersane, was the fifth; dressed in a dhoti-panjabi, he described himself as childlike and said he does not do household chores.

Actor Nandini Roy, who recently left the television serial 'Kone Dekha Alo', was the sixth contestant. Former footballer Dipendu Biswas, who played for East Bengal, Mohun Bagan, Mohammedan Sporting and the Indian national team, was the seventh, and said his daughter was especially excited about his participation. Entrepreneur Tanushree Roy Das, known online for her sari business, was the eighth entrant, and actor Anindya Sengupta, who has worked in films, television and OTT projects, followed in ninth place.

Social media influencer Sayak was the 10th contestant, with Ganguly bringing up Sayak's earlier beef-eating controversy and joking about it. Instagram influencer Jayita, who was born into a Bengali family and currently lives in Mumbai, entered as the 11th contestant. British actor Alexandra Taylor, who has appeared in Bengali films, was the 12th entrant; she said in Bengali that her Bengali is very bad and that she has a home in Kolkata and wants to live there with her mother.

Actor Srijla Guha, who gained popularity through Mon Phagun and was recently seen in Jeet's Keu Bole Biplabi Keu Bole Dakat, was the 13th contestant. Social media personality Jhilam Gupta entered as contestant number 14. Television actor Sonamoni Saha completed the line-up as the 15th and final contestant, saying she intends to remain until the finale and leave with the trophy.

NewsX listed a partial lineup that also includes Sean Banerjee and Nandini Dutta, among others.

Host's Comments and Format

Ahead of the show, Ganguly revealed that he had been watching Salman Khan-hosted Bigg Boss to understand the format better before taking charge of the Bengali version, as reported by NewsX. He also expressed hope that Salman might eventually make an appearance on the Bigg Boss Bangla stage.

The contestants are expected to spend around 12 weeks inside the house, facing nominations, eliminations, tasks and the usual conflicts that have made the Bigg Boss format popular across languages, according to NewsX.

History of the Show

Bigg Boss Bangla originally launched on ETV Bangla in 2013, with actor Mithun Chakraborty hosting the first season, as reported by The Economic Times. Anik Dhar won that edition. The second season arrived in 2016 on Colors Bangla, with actor Jeet as host, and Joyjit Banerjee won that season.