Bigg Boss Kannada OTT Season 1 contestants: Netizens not thrilled with selection, especially that of Sonu Gowda

Last evening, the first-ever Bigg Boss Kannada OTT season kicked off on Voot Select. Hosted by Kiccha Sudeep, this 42-day mini season, which will pave the way for some contestants getting direct entry into Bigg Boss Kannada Season 9, has 16 people in the house.

Showrunner and Head of Business Colors Kannada Parameshwar Gundkal had promised a mix of celebrities from cinema, TV and radio on this season, but the final list of 16 also includes social media influencers. Right now, the 16 in the house are numerologist Aryavardhan, Tik Tok star Sonu Srinivas Gowda, actors Roopesh Shetty, Spoorthi Gowda, Uday Surya, Sana Iyer, Akshata Kuki, Rakesh Adiga, comedian Lokesh Kumar, model-dancer Kiran Yogeshwar, former actress Chythrra Hallikeri, entrepreneur Jayshree Aradhya, actor-politico Arjun Ramesh, Roadies finalist and winner couple Jashwanth and Nandu and popular TV anchor Somanna Machimada.

Netizens and ardent followers of the reality show are not kicked about the choice of contestants and the fact that it is streaming only on Voot Select, which, they say, will keep a good segment of audiences away. “Most internet users rely on the 1-1.5 GB daily data and won’t be able to watch the show in its 24*7 format. Even if they catch only the highlights at 7 pm, that’s a good 1.5-2 hours, which may also not be doable,” says a user.

The internet limitations apart, what is going against the show are the 16 in the house now. Most notably, netizens seem to have taken offence to the fact that social media star Sonu Srinivas Gowda is on the show. Sonu, who has close to 800K followers on Instagram is the subject of a lot of trolls and hate messages on social media now. Fans have been asking Sudeep not to host the show anymore. “@KicchaSudeep Boss Plz Host Maadbedi,” wrote a user, to which another chimed, “@KicchaSudeep sir and #BiggBossKannadaOTT u have lost my respect when u have invited Sonu srinivas gowda instead u could have invited many other talents. Utter flop season.” A third added, “Bad selection and bad contestant I think they are not aware of her karma kaanda.”

A majority of the messages against Sonu cannot be reproduced on a public forum, which goes to show just how much dislike she generates among audiences.