BB19 producer denies minimum guarantee for contestants, breaks down casting process

Controversies and debates have been a constant with ‘Bigg Boss’, with fans questioning most things that transpire on the show. Apart from the winner -- which many call 'fixed' -- another topic of discussion is how many popular contestants come with a minimum guarantee every season. This year, there have already been talks that Gaurav Khanna, Mridul Tiwari, and Kunickaa Sadanand have a certain minimum stay in their contracts. In an exclusive chat with India Today, ‘Bigg Boss 19’ producer Rishi Negi addressed the topic and also gave a detailed account of how celebrities are cast.

"There is no minimum guarantee per se because they have a weekly compensation that they get paid. Otherwise, that would become very difficult here because you might be a very big celebrity, but you could get voted out in the second week. So that financial exposure is and if you have an MG, then you will not be involved in the house. Then they would feel, 'Yaar main toh safe hoon, or I will at least get my money (I am already safe for certain weeks).' We don't give MG and we keep away from it only because of that," Rishi Negi told us.

Discussing the casting process for the reality show, the producer shared that getting the right personalities is the major factor for a season's success. He added that given it's a long period of 105 days, one has to get the right bunch to keep the audience continuously engaged.

"And for us, this becomes the most rigorous exercise. The casting actually runs for close to six months prior. We meet multiple people from across, obviously, celebrities, because we do a celebrity Bigg Boss version. You meet hundreds of people. I think the team would



have met nearly 500 people this season," he shared.

Negi added that they travel across the country to meet the right people, as their requirement is always to find characters and not names. While many believe that controversies can get one a ticket to ‘Bigg Boss’, the producer denied the same. "I don't think there is even one controversial person in the house this year, and that hasn't impacted our viewership. There are very interesting characters. You can see people who are very different in their nature, their approach, their language, their way of life, and that is the fun of it. When you have such a diverse group that is there in one confined space, that's where you will get great content."

The audition process for ‘Bigg Boss’ involves either in-person or video call interviews conducted directly by the show's team. While preliminary phone calls are made to gauge interest and availability, the actual selection is a detailed, two-to-three-layered process that every potential contestant must go through. When asked what kinds of questions are asked to these probable contestants, Negi shared that it's difficult to gauge a person in just a few questions. The need is to understand how they react to situations or people, what their safe and unsafe places are.

"It happens over a long period and multiple times because it's not an acting audition. We try to assess if someone is saying I am a very calm person, are they really so? Don't they react to something extreme? We need to look within because we don't want people who put up a facade. The questions go in a way to understand their real personality, because that's what the show is all about," he explained.