Originally posted by: nehlove
I totally disagree... I think you DO need big name celebrities to make a season hit. Hiten, Hina and Shilpa were the main reason for this season being a hit. Vikas and Arshi were also important to the storyline but that was after people were already invested in the season. Most non-BB watchers wanted to watch this season for Hiten, Hina and Shilpa because of their previous shows and celebrity status. Even though Hiten was unfairly evicted mid-way, he was still prominent in the house and even outside the house until the very end because of the decision the "winner" took. Most Hiten fans were invested in the show for at least about two weeks after his eviction to see whether he will be brought back and also to see Vikas progress after Hiten's eviction.
S9 and S10 did not have any big celebrities so the seasons were a big flop. s5 (Juhi), s4 (Shweta Tiwari), s7 (Gauhar-Tanisha-Kamya-Pratyusha) all had big named celebrities and were a hit. Basically, they need celebrities to make the show a hit... Not as many people are going to be invested in a season filled with just commoners no matter what their personality.
I started watching because of Hina too so I do agree a little, but i think having 3-4 somewhat famous contestants is enough to begin with, but to keep interest you need good interesting people. Celebs are very image conscious and hold back a lot. Season 6 had a quite lot of celebs and was very dull, even the last year celebs like Karan Mehra/Rahul Dev were quite inactive.
I think best formula is 1-2 A lister (so very very famous currently) Hina/Shilpa, then about 3-4 other recognisable faces: Hiten, Priyank, Sapna & Ben (I didn't know the last 2 but oh well lol).
Vikas, Arshi, Sabya, Bandgi, Puneesh, Luv, Mehz (or more so her jinnat) have all had memorable moments in the house. It's nice to have a lot of background characters not just big names to get a good mix.