Plenty of drama unfolded in the first episode of Bigg Boss, season 3 on Colors channel.

Hogging the limelight was compere Amitabh Bachchan. Bachchan slipped into his role of anchor and pop philosopher with consummate ease. He also seemed to have done his homework well, pulling out all the stops to woo the fans of the reality show.

He spoke in chaste Hindi, quoted from his father’s poetry, interacted with the families of the contestants, accepted the effusive show of affection and adulation from each and every member, flirted lightly and made witty remarks. It should be a treat to watch him in the forthcoming episodes.

The final list of housemates on the show was unveiled on episode one. The final 13 contestants of this season were unveiled in the first, marathon episode. Music director and reality TV regular Ismail Darbar, item girl Sherlyn Chopra, ex-Miss India and now glamorous reel mom Poonam Dhillon , reality TV -find, comedian Raju Srivastav, baby-faced muscleman Vindu Dara Singh, self-styled actor-director of ‘patriotic’ films Kamal R K aka KRK, joined TV actors and dancer couple Tanaz and Bakhtiyar Irani, ex-model and Khatron ke Khiladi veteran Aditi Govitrikar, starlet Shamita, better known as Shilpa Shetty’s little sister, Salman Khan’s German co-star from the long-forgotten Marigold Claudia Ciesla , ostensibly effeminate designer Rohit Verma dressed in a flowing gown, thick eye-lashes and lipstick, and finally, Jaya Sawant, mother of the headline grabbing Rakhi Sawant.

Jaya is not a celebrity and in fact when asked by Big B, she said this was the first time ever she has even been on the stage. Everyone is aware of her strained relationship with her daughter, Rakhi, who herself was a part of the show in the first season in 2006 and attracted a lot of attention due to her tantrums.
During the recent Swayamwar of Rakhi, her mother was not seen on the show anywhere. Jaya says she was not invited by anyone on the show, not even by her own daughter.
“I thank the general public for understanding me. I am confident that I will be able to handle everyone on the show,” Jaya told Bachchan.

Other inmates also got going with their antics. KRK began making pinching comments about some of the clothes the women were wearing, Vindu Dara Singh seemed keen to be this season’s Rahul Mahajan , by generally looking affable and enthusiastic, and greeting everyone by their first names. Ismail Darbar kept walking around quietly as if deeply scrutinizing everything and everyone, Sherlyn Chopra made a big deal about untying her choli, almost plastering herself to the camera. And finally Rohit Verma, called himself a “Hiroshima Nagasaki bomb” and asked the inmates of they wanted him to use the men’s or the women’s bedroom.

The episode was tiresome for the repeated adulation offered to Amitabh Bachchan. Also audio quality was poor.

Nevertheless, Bigg Boss Tritwiya, looks all set to dominate the TRP’s in the weeks to come. Bachchan’s engaging and witty lines, the juicy bunch of contestants and the guilty pleasure of being a voyeur all promise to make for a hit show.