Bigg Boss Tamil, hosted by Kamal Haasan, kicks off: Contestant list, updates from episode one

The Tamil version of the popular TV reality show Bigg Boss has finally kicked off on 25 June, Sunday, on Vijay Television (Star Vijay) with the first episode. With superstar Kamal Haasan hosting the show, expectations from the show are high indeed.

In the first episode, Haasan introduced the inmates of the Bigg Boss. How these housemates make their way in the show for 100 days remains to be seen.

Here are the 15 contestants from Bigg Boss Tamil:

Shree:

He made his feature film acting debut with Vazhakku Enn 18/9 (2012) and became a popular face. Since then, he has acted in movies like Vil Ambu (2015), Soan Papdi (2016) and Maanagaram (2017). He was the first contestant to enter the house.

Anuya:

Anuya Bhagvath has acted in Tamil films. This FTII graduate debuted with Kranti Kanade’s acclaimed children’s film Mahek (2007) and later stepped into the Tamil film industry with films like Siva Manasula Sakthi (2009), Madurai Sambavam (2009), Nanban (2012) and Naan (2012), to name a few.

Vaiyapuri:

He is a comedian and actor in the Tamil film industry. He has acted in nine films with Kamal Haasan including Mumbai Express (2005) and Dasavatharam (2008).  He has also shared screen  space with superstar Rajinikanth in 2008 film Kuselan.

Gayathri Raghuram:

Daughter of the famous choreographer Raghuram, Gayathri is a choreographer and actor in Tamil industry. She made her acting debut with Prabhu Deva in Charlie Chaplin (2002). She has choreographed Jayam Kondaan (2008),  Ko (2011), etc.

Bharani:

Bharani made his debut with Samudrakani’s 2009 acclaimed film Naadodigal.  He has made a mark for himself as a comedy actor and has his fair share of popularity among the Tamil cine-audience.

Raiza:

Raiza Wilson is a model and a former contestant of Miss India. She is the only one who has no connections to the Tamil film industry, as reported by scooptimes.com.

Snehan:

Snehan is a noted Tamil poet and lyricist; he has written lyrics for more than 2,500 songs and won many awards for his work. He began his journey as a song writer with 1997 film, Putham Pudhiya Poove. He also marked his acting debut with Yogi (2009).

Oviya:

She is a model and film actress who rose to fame with the film Kalavani (2010). She has acted in over 20 movies in Malayalam, Tamil and Kannada languages. She has also made a guest appearance in Kamal Haasan’s Manmadan Ambu which released in 2010.

Harathi Ganesh:

Harathi Ganesh is a popular face in Tamil cinema and television. She made her acting debut as a child artist in the film Vanna Kanavugal (1987) and went on to do many other films. She is known for her comic acting in films like Arul (2004), Kutty (2010), Kayal (2014) and much recently in Kaththi Sandai (2016). Her popularity rose with the stand up comedy show, Asatha Povathu Yaaru?

Aarar:

Aarar is a model and actor. He has played a small role in Vijay Antony’s 2016 film, Saithan. He has featured in more than 100 advertisements. He is also a non-celebrity contestant, as reported by scooptimes.com.

Ganja Karuppu:

Ganja Karuppu is an actor known predominantly for his comedy roles in Tamil films like  Raam(2005),  Paruthiveeran (2007),  Subramaniyapuram (2008), and Naadodigal (2009, Kalavani (2010).

Juliana:

Juliana came into the limelight during the jallikattu protests in Chennai. She is a nurse by profession and is again a non-celebrity candidate.

Ganesh Venkatram:

Ganesh is a model-turned-actor is indeed one of the most well-known faces of the lot. This successful model had been a winner of Gladrags Mr India 2003 and also represented India in Mr World 2004. Later, he entered films with the cult comedy film The Angrez (2006) and went on to doing supporting and lead roles in many Tamil films like Abhiyum Naanum (2008), Panithuli (2012) and Thani Oruvan (2015).

Sakthi:

Sakthi Vasudevan is the son of noted director P Vasu. He bagan his film journey as a child artist in his father’s super hit film Chinna Thambi in 1991. He later starred in Ninaithale Inikkum (2009) and is expected to be seen in the Tamil remake of his father’s Kannada film Shivalinga.

Namitha:

Namitha is an established film actress who began with modelling after she was crowned Miss Surat in 1998. She has acted in a number of films in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.

With such a heterogenous mix of participants, this season of Bigg Boss Tamil should definitely be a treat to watch. The show airs at 9 pm on weekdays and 8.30 pm on weekends on Star Vijay.