After a reasonable debut with his weekend episode, 'Dadar Darbar', in the first week, Ganguly's calm demeanour and liberal approach to criticising the participants left a broad section of the audience wanting more.
Having hosted nine seasons of the popular quiz show Dadagiri, Ganguly is no longer a stranger to the television industry. However, Ganguly seemed to belong to a very different school of television.
Hosting Bigg Boss Bangla presented a different challenge, with participants from diverse backgrounds locked inside a house completely disconnected from the outside world.
(L-R) Salman Khan in Bigg Boss Hindi and Sourav Ganguly hosting Bigg Boss Bangla. Photo: Screen-grab/JioHotstar
Ganguly hosted the first four episodes spread across two weekends with modesty, charm and occasional tough words for the participants, but something appeared to be missing.
His hosting drew comparisons with Salman Khan, known for his trademark loud and angry demeanour and scathing remarks against the participants.
When Jeetu Kamal confronted Dada
Fans were visibly disappointed when actor Jeetu Kamal, a wild-card entrant, confronted Ganguly on the show, much to the former India captain's "surprise".
Ganguly was facing a two-pronged challenge — from the audience and the participants.
The audience was left stunned when Jeetu virtually accused Ganguly of favouritism on the show, a sentiment reflected in the reactions of other participants as the show streams live 24x7 on JioHotstar.
“Dada, are you encouraging a kind of violence in the show?” Jeetu questioned Ganguly, who handled the matter maturely. However, sections of the audience appeared to want the host to adopt a tougher approach.
Jeetu's comment came against the backdrop of a separate allegation against Ganguly, with a section of the participants accusing him of favouring explosive first wild-card entrant Rajveer Dey, whom the host had called a "game-changer".
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Rajveer's aggression and disruptive gameplay drew a massive cheer from the audience, but Jeetu's criticism was echoed by other participants, including senior actor Bharat Kaul.
A social media user commented, “A participant is grilling the host for the first time in the history of Bigg Boss.”
Some even said Jeetu should be "thankful" that Salman Khan was not the host.
Sourav Ganguly addressing a press conference on Bigg Boss Bangla in Kolkata. Photo: Avishek Mitra/IBNS
Dada's message before the turnaround
The criticism of Ganguly's calm hosting reached a point where the former India captain had to clarify his approach ahead of the third weekend episode.
In a video message, Ganguly said, “Let the participants play. The show has just begun, so let them settle in. Dada will pull them up at the appropriate time. My primary responsibility is to run the show, and if I start scolding them from the very beginning, they won’t be able to express themselves freely. Everything will happen at the right time.”
The comparison with Salman Khan may have added to the pressure as Ganguly opened the third weekend episode with a clear message for his critics.
“I have been scrutinised since the age of 15 when I started playing cricket. I was called a ‘quota player’ for India, but the perception changed when I scored a century on my Test debut. The headlines in India flipped when I became the captain,” Ganguly said while opening last Saturday's 'Dadar Darbar' episode.
Dada turns up the heat
Then came the turnaround.
Known for his multiple comebacks on the cricket field, Ganguly ripped into several participants in the Bigg Boss house over their activities — or lack thereof — leaving the housemates caught off guard.
In a video that went viral on social media, Ganguly was seen blasting content creator Niranjan Mondal, popularly known as Laughtersane, triggering a face-off between the two on the show.
“You can walk out if you feel like it. Please leave the space because you are not speaking the truth and no one is interested in hearing your lame arguments,” an uncharacteristically stern Ganguly told Niranjan when the latter claimed that "wrong allegations" had been levelled against him by the show.
“The audience is tracking all the participants for 24 hours. You can't fool them,” Ganguly added.
Niranjan was pulled up over his alleged involvement in a plan against co-participant Srijla Guha, who was rushed to hospital after actor Nandini Dutta pulled her down during a Bigg Boss task.
Jhilum Gupta also faces Dada's ire
In a separate context, Ganguly lambasted popular content creator Jhilum Gupta over her "inactivity" inside the house.
“You are not supposed to be a spectator here. I know you don’t like me, but I don’t care. I am here to run the show. You are also manipulating others during the tasks. You are not even a shadow of the person the outside world knows you to be,” Ganguly told her.
He also pulled up Jhilum for calling Rajveer a "terrorist" on the show.
“Do you understand what the term ‘terrorist’ means? You can protest against or disagree with any co-participant, but you cannot call someone a ‘terrorist’ on this platform. The entire world is fearful of what this term represents,” Ganguly told Jhilum before also slamming another participant, Sonamoni Saha, for calling Rajveer a "murderer".
“I have no idea what kind of show you think Bigg Boss is,” he added.
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Aneek Dhar praises Ganguly's aggression
Ganguly's tougher outing during the third weekend episode has impressed Bigg Boss Bangla Season 1 winner and singer Aneek Dhar.
Aneek, who regularly posts videos about the show, lauded Ganguly for adopting a tougher approach towards the participants.
In a video message, Aneek praised Ganguly's grilling of the participants, who are locked inside the house for around three months.
“How did you feel? Did you enjoy Dada’s aggression? You took Dada for granted and started confronting him. I am so happy. This is just the beginning of Dada’s aggression. He was dealing with them very gracefully at first, but now they will be given a befitting response,” Aneek said in a message for the participants.
Bigg Boss Bangla is telecast on Star Jalsha and streamed on JioHotstar at 9:30 pm every day. The show is also live-streamed 24x7 on JioHotstar.