The highly anticipated Bigg Boss 19 is set to premiere in August 2025 with several major changes. While Salman Khan returns as the show's face, he won’t be the sole host this season. According to updates from Screen, the upcoming season will feature a digital-first rollout, a five-month runtime, and a rotating panel of celebrity hosts.
Digital-first launch on JioCinema
The show is slated to go live on the weekend of August 29–30. For the first time, Bigg Boss will debut on OTT platform JioCinema before airing on television. Each episode will drop on the streamer first, followed by its TV premiere on Colors TV.
This hybrid model is part of the show's strategy to expand its digital footprint. Sources told Screen, "The makers are making this season as a digital-first property. This means the show will run simultaneously on TV and OTT; however, the fresh episodes will drop on Jio Hotstar first, and after one and a half hours, the same episode will appear on Colors TV.”
Salman Khan to host for 3 months only
While Salman will kick off Bigg Boss 19, his hosting stint is expected to last for the first three months. After that, the show will be helmed by other prominent names, including Farah Khan, Karan Johar, and Anil Kapoor.
“Like every year, the makers are planning to bring in different celebrities as special hosts. After Salman finishes his three-month-long stint, makers will bring in Farah Khan, Karan Johar, and Anil Kapoor to step in as hosts,” the source added. The makers are still finalising whether these celebrity hosts will appear individually or rotate every few weeks. Salman, however, is expected to return to host the grand finale.
Bigg Boss 19 list of tentative contestants
{{/usCountry}}“Like every year, the makers are planning to bring in different celebrities as special hosts. After Salman finishes his three-month-long stint, makers will bring in Farah Khan, Karan Johar, and Anil Kapoor to step in as hosts,” the source added. The makers are still finalising whether these celebrity hosts will appear individually or rotate every few weeks. Salman, however, is expected to return to host the grand finale.
Bigg Boss 19 list of tentative contestants
{{/usCountry}}The show is expected to start with around 15 contestants, with an additional 3–5 wild card entries joining later. So far, more than 20 celebrities and influencers have been approached.
Among the tentative list are: Ram Kapoor, Gautami Kapoor, Dheeraj Dhoopar, Alisha Panwar, Anita Hassanandani, Lataa Saberwal, Ashish Vidyarthi, Munmun Dutta, Tanushree Dutta, Sharad Malhotra, Mamta Kulkarni, Paras Kalnawat, Mr Faisu, Krishna Shroff, Gaurav Taneja, Apoorva Mukhija, Chinki Minki, Purav Jha, Khushi Dubey, Arshifa Khan, Mickey Makeover, Kanika Mann, Daisy Shah, and Raj Kundra