The otherwise ‘smart player’ of the Bigg Boss House, Amar Upadhyay, broke down last evening on the show.

Since day one, Amar has been strong in the House, but when Akashdeep Sky Saigal asked him about his mother, his eyes went moist.

During the conversation, Amar told the inmates how he was once shooting for a film in Manali, when his mother called and he couldn’t speak to her.

Later, when he returned her call, the director called him for another shot, and he couldn’t speak to her again. After a while, in the midnight, a family member called him and conveyed a bad news. Amar rushed out from Manali, but it was too late. By the time he reached home, his mother had passed away.

We thought nothing could make Amar sad or cry on Bigg Boss. But as the actor went back in time, he was full of tears.

Throughout the entire season of Bigg Boss 5, if one has missed anything it’s the trademark ‘Secret Room’, where a participant is kept in alienation, with a special privilege to watch others in action inside the House.

Though Season 5 is nearing its finale, celebrity publicist and Bigg Boss specialist Dale Bhagwagar, says its not too late to introduce the ‘Secret Room’ even it is for two-three days. “This could escalate the drama manifold and give the privileged contestant in the room an insight about who is his/her real friend and who is not,” ideates Dale.

The Bollywood publicist, who has earlier handled the media for maximum number of controversial celebrities on reality shows including Shilpa Shetty (Big Brother), Ashmit Patel, Rakhi Sawant, Kashmera Shah, Sherlyn Chopra, Diana Hayden (Bigg Boss), has also spoken to contestants Juhi Parmar, Shakti Kapoor and Mahek Chahal before the show rolled this year, and is officially handling Amar Upadhyay during Season 5, and Pooja Misrra for a specific period after she completed her second innings on the reality show.

Asked who could be the best bet for getting into the Secret Room at this final stage, Dale says, “It could be anyone from Akashdeep Sky Saigal to Juhi Parmar to Siddharth Sid Bhardwaj. Its obvious, that the other Housemates will gossip about any contestant who goes, least realizing that he/she can come back and beat the daylights out of them just before the finale.”

About the Secret Room:

The Secret Room is a special room near the Bigg Boss House. There are times when Bigg Boss directs a Housemate to this room, while other Housemates are given the impression that the person has been evicted or has left the House for good. The Housemate kept in isolation, is given access to past episodes of the show as well as the privilege to secretly watch what is going on in the House. Equipped with all this knowledge, when the Housemate re-enters the main House, all hell breaks lose.

After being evicted from Bigg Boss, pornstar Sunny Leone targeted contestant Amar Upadhyay, alleging that he kissed her hand and picked her up against her wishes, while carrying out fun tasks assigned to Housemates on the reality show.

In an interview to a prominent newspaper, the pornstar fromCanadamounted a scathing attack on the Indian actor and claimed, “It’s the first time in my entire career that I’ve had to tell a man (Amar) more than once not to be a certain way. That’s why I didn’t exactly know how to handle the situation as it was coming, other than talking to him as an adult. In my real life, no one comes near me or no one even tries to get fresh or do anything – it just doesn’t happen.”

Amar Upadhyay’s publicist Dale Bhagwagar clarified that the actor’s ‘acts’ of kissing Leone on her hand or picking her up during a rain dance on the show, “were strictly part of the ‘entertainment tasks’ given to the Housemates on Bigg Boss.”

Replying to Sunny’s bizarre claims, he said, “Sunny Leone a respected pornstar! She should be careful before uttering such words against a family man and an actor who has been admired and adored on Indian television for his role of the righteous Mihir Virani in Kyonki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, which even propelled him as a superstar on television with a huge fan following.”

“Sunny is planning to enter Bollywood. Showing such disrespect for a family man and massacring the reputation of an Indian actor even before she officially signs her first Bollywood movie, could reflect badly on her and scare off most reputed Indian actors and producers,” the publicist pointed out.

Indeed, Sunny seems to have committed professional hara-kiri.Indiais a country of great morality and culture and this frivolous accusation could make her career in Bollywood an uphill task now.

It can be noted here that Bigg Boss co-host Sanjay Dutt, who had rightfully come to Amar’s support during one of the elimination rounds earlier, was said to be planning to work with Sunny. But the rumours have been denied. Quoting a source, a prominent newspaper clarified, “Sanju wouldn’t be comfortable working with Leone and has no interest in signing her on whatsoever.”

The other Bigg Boss co-host Salman Khan, who was said to be considering Sunny for a film, hasn’t announced anything; while Mahesh Bhatt is yet to officially sign her for Jism 2, a movie he discussed with her on entering the Bigg Boss House as a guest last month.

The Indianisation of Sunny Leone 

Currently lodged in Bigg Boss, international porn star Sunny Leone has a new trick up her sleeve for her official website. This week, the site saw a bit of a revamp and a ‘new look’ with a special banner having sentences added in Hindi on the home page.

Obviously, the porn sensation, who plans to make a big splash in the Indian market, is aiming to spruce up her brand and image and make it slightly India-compatible, while retaining its core porn-USPs, before she makes her Bollywood debut after Bigg Boss.

“Sunny Leone is in the business of exposure and awareness. Entertainment and hype are her tools and ammunition,” remarks celebrity publicist Dale Bhagwagar; a specialist with Bigg Boss, having handled the media for the maximum number of controversial celebrities on reality shows including Shilpa Shetty (during Big Brother), Rakhi Sawant, Kashmera Shah, Ashmit Patel, Sherlyn Chopra, Pooja Misrra and Amar Upadhyay (Bigg Boss).

“Make no mistake!Indiais a huge and lucrative market for Brand Sunny Leone. Though Sunny is based out ofCanada, we should not forget that she is born Karen Malhotra and has Indian origins. With her appearance and demure behaviour on India’s biggest reality show Bigg Boss, she is obviously trying to sanitize and Indianize her porn star brand and image,” the Bollywood PR expert points out.

“The new Indianized look of her international website with Hindi lines added on the new improved homepage, is just a step further in that direction,” he adds.

Sunny has already expressed her intentions of entering Bollywood. Dale even asserts that his sources tell him that apart from Mahesh Bhatt, who discussed his forthcoming film Jism 2 with Sunny on Bigg Boss, even Salman Khan is planning a film with her.

“So whether the conservatives like it our not, the time has come to accept Sunny Leone as part of our entertainment industry. In fact, from a PR point of view, further resistance from Indian audiences will only translate into more power to her existence in the Indian entertainment industry,” Dale analyses.

“Saddam Hussein was found by American troops hiding in a little bunker inIraq. Osama Bin Laden was found by American forces hiding in a house compound inPakistan. Muammar Gaddafi was captured by rebel militia while hiding a drain underneath a road inLibya. And Pakistani starlet Veena Malik was found by the Indian media hiding in a suburban hotel in Mumbai,” shootsIndia’s biggest firebrand Rakhi Sawant in her inimitable style.

Veena who is all set to participate in a televised Swayamvar titled Veena Ka Vivah on Imagine TV, a programme Rakhi made famous with her participation earlier, has been in the news for her nude photoshoot in FHM magazine this month.

Rakhi believes Veena has insulted all Pakistanis, including the country’s governance, military and intelligence, by getting an ISI tattoo painted on her hand while doing the controversial FHM photoshoot.

She says, “Veena is doing all kinds of cheap gimmicks to gain publicity for herself and the show. I can bet she will not marry anyone on it. She is fooling the whole ofIndia,Pakistanand even her own family. She has given her boyfriend Ashmit Patel’s residence address on the legal notice she has sent to FHM. On one hand, she is in a live-in relationship with Ashmit, and on the other hand, she wants someone else to marry her.”

“I won’t be surprised if Veena now comes up with a break-up publicity stunt with Ashmit to make her Swayamvar drama look credible. When I did Swayamvar, I went with a clean intention and open mind. But all this marriage business by Veena inIndiais a farce and the Indian audiences are being fooled in the name of a sacred institution like marriage.”

“Which self-respecting man will marry a girl who has done a nude photoshoot and is living-in with another man. This is just the beginning. As time goes by I will expose her completely. Even Bal Thackeray has said today that Veena should be sent back toPakistan.”

Rakhi’s publicist Dale Bhagwagar says, “Veena may not be a bad person, but it seems she is not in control of her PR activities, and they end up like publicity stunts. Today, PR is an intriguing mind game in a media minefield. With the kind of reach PR has, it becomes extremely important to keep ethics in mind while executing promotional strategies and branding brands. Otherwise, a PR can end up misleading society and causing havoc. And sadly, that’s what seems to have happened in Veena Malik’s case.”

After being unfairly targeted and evicted as a contestant from Bigg Boss 5 and going in for a short second entry as a guest on the show, Pooja Misrra is seeking to prop up her image and has hired Bollywood public relations expert Dale Bhagwagar this week, for a specific period of a month to do an image turnaround.

The publicist had refrained from taking on Pooja’s work earlier citing conflict of interest, as he also handles another contestant Amar Upadhyay during his stint in Bigg Boss 5. But now, since Pooja is no longer in the race for the finale, he agreed to handle her officially and help her with image and crisis management.

For the record, Pooja Misrra was ousted from the House for an alleged assault on co-contestant Siddharth Bhardwaj. She was apparently removed for physically pushing Siddharth on the show, after the latter blew a situation out of proportion and demanded her exit.

Initially targeted by Pooja Bedi, Misrra was made the butt of many jokes, after which she shot back and fought her way with each and every contestant of the show. Millions of viewers identified with her arguments, realizing her plight and urge for space, resulting in Pooja surviving the maximum number of evictions on the show with a mega margin of public votes. Her most famous comment on the show “Spare me” has now become popular lingo all over the country.

“Pooja Misrra was the biggest entertainer and the soul of the season when she first entered Bigg Boss. After her sudden eviction, the public wanted her back as a contestant, competing for the finals. But that couldn’t happen, and Pooja had to merely return as Andrew Symonds’s translator and make frantic attempts to rectify her spoilt reputation. Whereas if she was a contestant, she could have fought back tooth and nail to reach the finals,” said Dale, who was earlier labeled Pooja’s ‘guerrilla publicist’ by the media before she hired him this week.

A specialist with Bigg Boss, Dale has handled the media for the maximum number of celebrities on reality shows including Shilpa Shetty (during Big Brother), Vindu Dara Singh, Rakhi Sawant, Kashmera Shah, Sherlyn Chopra, Shamita Shetty, Zulfi Syed, Diana Hayden (Bigg Boss), IshQ Bector (Iss Jungle Se Mujhe Bachcho), Natasha Suri (Big Switch) and more. Another Bigg Boss winner Rahul Roy has been Dale’s close friend, while the controversial Ashmit Patel was his client during his stint in Bigg Boss last year.

Even Pakistani actress Veena Malik got invited on the show because of a controversy with Neetu Chandra, yet another of Dale’s clients. Earlier, the PR specialist is known to have discussed media strategies with Ali Merchant for both, him and Sara Khan, and to have received an offer to handle Rahul Bhatt.

Before Bigg Boss Season 5 rolled, Dale also spoke to contestants Shakti Kapoor, Mahek Chahal and Juhi Parmar and discussed the show with them.

Defending charges by Bigg Boss participants and some people outside, on Amar Upadhyay being a ‘game player’ on the show, his publicist Dale Bhagwagar says, “Bigg Boss is a game show as much as it is termed a reality show and Amar is playing his game. Big deal!”

“When a chess player plays a game with a strategy, do we say, ‘he’s a game player’? When a cricketer plays on the field with a game plan, do we say, ‘he’s a game player’? So when a reality show contestant plans or strategies, why should we term him a ‘game player’ in a derogatory sense,” asks Dale.

The PR specialist further reasons that we all know Bigg Boss is an entertainment-based show full of gigs and tasks. The participants are fully aware that they are followed by cameras 24×7 and even watched from two-way mirrors. They are also wearing mikes while talking.

“If Amar cleverly and smartly uses some tactics to his advantage, why should we raise questions about morality? Just like a game of chess, he has gone to Bigg Boss to play his game and reach the top, not to make relations with all contestants. Yes, if in process, he makes some real and genuine friends; that would be excellent,” says the publicist.

He adds, “At the end of it, everyone is competing with each other on Bigg Boss. So it’s unfair to brand only Amar as a ‘game player’. It’s just that he plays it a bit more obviously than others. That should be viewed as transparency, rather than deceit.”

Indeed, everyone is a player on Bigg Boss and as viewers we do need to understand that, rather than singling out Amar Upadhyay. Point taken! Topic closed!

Will this be injustice towards Pooja Misrra

According to latest reportsIndia’s biggest reality show Bigg Boss will let one out of three selected contestants, enter the House of Scandal as a Wild Card Entry this week.

It is said that the names of the contestants would be announced on the show, and one amongst the three will go in, depending on whom the public votes the most. The speculated names include Mahek Chahal, Shonali Nagrani and Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, though a source also informs that Shonali might opt out. Let’s see if this comes true.

Celebrity publicist and Bigg Boss specialist Dale Bhagwagar, who firebrand Pooja Misrra had consulted before entering the show and also before her second innings of 11 days as a guest, says that normally, a Wild Card Entry as a ‘CONTESTANT’ is expected to go in at least four weeks before the finale. So it might be considered unfair by the public at large if an ex-Housemate enters, just two weeks before the finale as a CONTESTANT, and not as a GUEST, after having been in the luxurious outside world and witnessed everything in black and white.

“It might be perceived as being unjust towards Pooja Misrra who was allowed entry only as a guest and not as a contestant, and punished harshly for merely a little thrust to Siddharth Bhardwaj, who made a mountain out of a push, branding it as assault and her as violent,” says Dale Bhagwagar, who has also been labeled Pooja Misrra’s ‘guerrilla publicist’ in the media.