On what basis are favourites decided by Colors?

Please explain to me what is the formula used. I definitely think the way they are biased is on purpose to evoke a reaction from fans. Salman is just the mouthpiece. But what is the motivation when they go pagal in pyaar for them? Like the way they have with Shukla? Manisha alone can’t be the reason.

As far as I know Sana was a major attraction last season why did they not bring her back or did she refuse?

Originally posted by: Deviant_Pixel

Please explain to me what is the formula used. I definitely think the way they are biased is on purpose to evoke a reaction from fans. Salman is just the mouthpiece. But what is the motivation when they go pagal in pyaar for them? Like the way they have with Shukla? Manisha alone can’t be the reason.

As far as I know Sana was a major attraction last season why did they not bring her back or did she refuse?

It's the narrative and whatever gives them trps, its the same story every season.

Colors cares about nothing except money, they only favour the narrative that sells well.

For BB, content is the king...

Anyone who can give content that generates TRP’s and evokes strong emotions in public, be it love or hate, they’ll promote..

Originally posted by: girlie_giggles

For BB, content is the king...

Anyone who can give content that generates TRP’s and evokes strong emotions in public, be it love or hate, they’ll promote..

I kinda agree that content is king but Colors does choose a favourite to promote every season and his/her main rival is always bashed and maybe it is a strategy by the channel to rile up the audience and get more and more reactions from the public in order to create controversies and generate high trps.

But why does their promoted contestant always end up winning? 😂😂

For once can’t the main rival who gets unfairly bashed weekly for daring to stand up against the channel’s laadla/laadli win? 😂😂

It’s so frustrating for me lol

Only Gauhar won against the the channel’s fav otherwise the rivals reach the top 2 but always finish 2nd. Enough of this already, I wanna Gauhar type winner this season 😂😂

Isn't that the question! 😆 Honestly - who knows? And some favouring is inevitable - i.e. content givers over duds, though these guys go overboard. But I've noticed that since Rangu and Sallu received that massive backlash in season 7 for the bias for Kohli-Tanisha, tabse they go with whoever's appearing to develop support. Shinde ho phir, Sreesanth yaan phir Shukla.

They obviously have an idea pre-show as to what these lot are like/can do, and angles that will be played - this stuff might not be scripted, but it's most definitely guided. They choose based on that IMO, and then keep on with the one developing support.

In short - biased narrative and weekend white-washing toh chahiye hi - but they've done it smartly for the last few seasons, in that they go with the one whose large majority of fans can be kept happy, since their fave is favoured 😆

Originally posted by: SP2684

Isn't that the question! 😆 Honestly - who knows? And some favouring is inevitable - i.e. content givers over duds, though these guys go overboard. But I've noticed that since Rangu and Sallu received that massive backlash in season 7 for the bias for Kohli-Tanisha, tabse they go with whoever's appearing to develop support. Shinde ho phir, Sreesanth yaan phir Shukla.

They obviously have an idea pre-show as to what these lot are like/can do, and angles that will be played - this stuff might not be scripted, but it's most definitely guided. They choose based on that IMO, and then keep on with the one developing support.

In short - biased narrative and weekend white-washing toh chahiye hi - but they've done it smartly for the last few seasons, in that they go with the one whose large majority of fans can be kept happy, since their fave is favoured 😆

Yah this is true we can’t deny Shukla and rest had massive support to begin with. But then I wonder why in BB 12 they made Dipika win? Did she really get more votes?

This is the first season they are pushing Nikki but largely public dislikes her.

Its a complicated system. The favoritism happens at the very top - Manisha or Vats. The 'creatives' or the writers who are hired to write the show, prepare scripts for Salman, and overall show design (tasks, timing, twists, etc.) work at a much lower level. So, basically, they themselves are in a tough spot because their boss's boss's boss has instructed them that, for example, Shukla has to look like a hero even though his actions are negative. Thus, they start with the Salman favoritism nonsense (since Sallu holds alot of massy authority) and they design the show around showcasing Shukla. Remember the two week period on BB13 when we only saw Asim during tasks (which was minimal) and the entire episodes revolved around SidNaaz drama? That's because they had a story to tell according to their instructions. The fact is - all contestants live in the house for the exact number of hours every day, 24, so the whole argument of "he is running the show" and "tum dikhte hi nahee ho" can be very easily manipulated to fit the narrative.

By all accounts, it seems that Manisha is the key player, especially in the BB13 Shukla scenario. Last year I interacted with many Colors/Endemol employees through mutual friends as well as on Twitter. Noted body positivity activist and fashion blogger Amena (@fashionopolis) and I also talked alot. She has friends in Colors who are high ranking and even she confirmed everything I was hearing from my contacts. Here's the timeline of the show's evolving narrative:

1. From the very start, at the planning stage, the show was designed to be a platform for a Shukla/Rashami rivalry. They were both part of a successful show and had generated public interest due to media buzz. Also, Colors had worked with them and knew that they were volatile personalities who will be bound to give 'content.' They also planned to insert some more interest in the show by introducing Arhaan Khan as a wildcard. I like Rashami and I don't want this to turn into a fanwar - but remember - Rashami pretended to be just friends with Arhaan in the beginning, initiated a love storyline, and they even teased a proposal. Then, after Arhaan's personal life came out - both admitted that they had been together since before the show. Point is - they played along.

2. Contracts Contracts Contracts. I have a background in social media marketing and some basic PR, so I have absolutely no doubt that Shukla was signed to be a winner. The amount of hoops the show jumped through to justify his trash. Musogyny, sexism, violence, homophobic jokes, kaamchori, special treatment, disproportionate screentime, one-sided biased promos - they gave Shukla everything to make people like him. Also, lets face it - those of us who are involved enough to see through their plans are the minority. Shukla's current popularity after the show is proof of this. Most people just watch, consume, accept the narrative, and move on.

3. The show began with the 'Bed Friends Forever' nonsense primarily designed to create sparks between Shukla and Rashami. This was a disaster PR-wise, and got shut down pretty quick.

4. With Arhaan in the picture, the show began cutting episodes to highlight differences between Shukla and Arhaan, trying to show Shukla as positive. When Rashami became less interested in providing content and just started chilling (I am sure she got a finale minimum guarantee contract too), the show then started doing weird stuff to trigger her, they eliminated her despite her winning votes, started bringing out her personal life (past contractual disputes, bankruptcy, etc.), and then of course the Arhaan's family thing. All to highlight Arhaan negatively.

5. The dark horse - Asim Riaz. Somewhere along the way, the makers realized that this random kid they signed the day of the premier shoot had somehow emerged as one of their major organic stars. I am sure Colors would love to capitalize - who doesn't want a brand new star they can use for years on TV, shows, etc. Problem is - he became the star by opposing Shukla. Shukla had both the contract and Manisha on his side, so they began actively promoting the Sid/Asim rivalry as the main theme. TRP was soaring and extension was announced. Then a terrible situation started - they realized that no matter how much they portray Asim negative in promos, Shukla just can't manage his own behavior and ends up looking bad. With the pushing, bullying, family insults, it became too much and they began worrying about Shukla's image - which is important because they needed him to win votes. So, randomly, more than halfway into the show they did the unthinkable (by traditional rules of content creation) - they deliberately began to undercut their own big star. Asim lost massive amounts of screentime. Vikas Gupta was involved and Asim was given a lose-lose task that VG manipulated to put the blame on him. Also, later on, they tried one last time by saying that he had cheated on his girlfriend during a very strategically planned time - after a Himanshi visit and before the press conference task.

6. SidNaaz. Luckily for the show, they had something to show in order to reduce Asim's screenspace, and that was SidNaaz. Sana was entertaining and Shukla was already getting along with her. So they decided to cut down the tasks for a few weeks (again, going against their own show rules) and focused entirely on SidNaaz for a few weeks. This was one way to keep TRPs while avoiding Shukla/Asim conflict which always makes Shukla look bad. Smart move by Colors. The couple's huge popularity to this day is proof about how well they succeeded at this stage. Also, needless to say, it also shows how gullible the audience is and how powerful media can be in mass manipulation.

7. Eventually, they were not able to completely kill Asim's momentum. He ended up second. Rashami reached the finale and was immediately eliminated. Bare contractual minimum karke nikla diya. Arti Singh, who is probably the worst finale-reaching non contributing contestant in show history reached the finale. Paras was smart to take the briefcase, as he had already figured out the jhol. Sana ended up third - quite an achievement for a relative nobody among popular TV faces. Shukla won, as per plans, and as we can see the relationship with him and the channel is still in excellent terms.

Sorry for the long post, but this is a perfect example of how complicated favoritism could be. Its a very long and messy ongoing system involving boss's instructions, constant rewriting, daily search for content, contracts, and editing manipulation. So, the original answer to your question "what is the formula" is impossible to answer. If Asim never went against Sid, he would be heavily favored but probably wouldn't reach the finale. If Sana went against Sid very strongly like Asim and never went back - she would be the non-favorite. If Arti didn't do all Sid's work and support him blindly, then she would be thrown out literally days after the family round. Sab kuch kelie agenda hota hai. There is no formula.

Originally posted by: Deviant_Pixel

Yah this is true we can’t deny Shukla and rest had massive support to begin with. But then I wonder why in BB 12 they made Dipika win? Did she really get more votes?

This is the first season they are pushing Nikki but largely public dislikes her.

I honestly think they chickened out last min with having Sree win, because he was on his way to that trophy, and had massive support too - I mean the guy was so much vileness yaar - toh they went with the saaf suthri bahu. I guess by the time it came to Shukla, they no longer care about what they're promoting through a win like that.

There used to be a time when one couldn't win, no matter how big the support, if one had had even one instance of out and out violence in the show (not cheena-jhapti in tasks and all - woh toh hota hi hain). Gunde ka jeetna toh door ki baat thi 😆

Re Nikki - it's just the start na. They'll see - if she develops support - fine. If someone else does, they might go with that person. Warna do do bahuein toh hain hi 😆

Originally posted by: SP2684

I honestly think they chickened out last min with having Sree win, because he was on his way to that trophy, and had massive support too - I mean the guy was so much vileness yaar - toh they went with the saaf suthri bahu. I guess by the time it came to Shukla, they no longer care about what they're promoting through a win like that.

There used to be a time when one couldn't win, no matter how big the support, if one had had even one instance of out and out violence in the show (not cheena-jhapti in tasks and all - woh toh hota hi hain). Gunde ka jeetna toh door ki baat thi 😆

Re Nikki - it's just the start na. They'll see - if she develops support - fine. If someone else does, they might go with that person. Warna do do bahuein toh hain hi 😆

Bichare Priyank ki band bajadi and he was nowhere on the level of what proceeded. I’m sorry but Vikas head butted Acash, do you remember this in jail? 🤣

Waise I wouldn’t mind a wildcard winning this season someone totally unexpected.

Sree didn’t do one task lmfao, oh god this bhai behen bullshit, why can’t men and women just be friends.period.

Originally posted by: Deviant_Pixel

Bichare Priyank ki band bajadi and he was nowhere on the level of what proceeded. I’m sorry but Vikas head butted Acash, do you remember this in jail? 🤣

Waise I wouldn’t mind a wildcard winning this season someone totally unexpected.

Sree didn’t do one task lmfao, oh god this bhai behen bullshit, why can’t men and women just be friends.period.

Oh yeah I remember - there was no way Vikas was winning that season anyway, though. That was Shinde from the beginning. She legit made unsupported allegations of criminal offences on the show - which is defamation, and the makers didn't bat an eyelid. Not to mention her shitty mindset (I hope you weren't her fan? If you were - I'm sorry 😆)

Upar se uske woh do aansu and "thank you Salmanji" on the weekend when the latter was lawyering for her 😆 - but even she wasn't as objectionable a winner as Shukla IMO. But khair, won't say much on this - warna jealousy welousy ke taane tapak padte hain 😆

Ugh I hated that bhai-behen drama. What nonsense - spinelessness to the T, until Abdullah came along and stole that title 😆. I prefer friendships too - and the platonic wali strong ones are the best!