Veena Malik, Begum Nawazish make debut

Veena Malik and Begum Nawazish set to feature on Indian reality television show “Bigg Boss”.

KARACHI: The premiere of the fourth season of the Indian reality television show “Bigg Boss” was crime-meets-Bollywood glitz. Some 14 contestants will live together in the same house, cut off from the world doing chores such as cooking.

Contestants will nominate their housemates for eviction, who will also be voted for or against by viewers. The process of elimination will lead to an eventual winner.

Hosted by Salman Khan, the show’s biggest draws for a Pakistani audience at least will be the two contestants - comedian and cross-dressing host Ali Saleem aka Begum Nawazish Ali and comedian Veena Malik, who has received a lot of airtime in India because of her past involvement with cricketer Mohammad Asif.

However, the ban on Indian television channels, imposed by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority in compliance with a Supreme Court order, has led to an increase in sales of satellite dishes by consumers. In 2006, the government limited the amount of foreign programming that could be shown by private television channels.

Reality shows and soap operas aired on Indian television channels are extremely popular in Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 4^th, 2010.