Not Salman Khan but another superstar was supposed to come on board as the host of Bigg Boss back in season 4.
When Bigg Boss began airing back in 2006, the first season was hosted by Arshad Warsi. As seasons changed, so did the hosts and the first few instalments of the show always had a new host, including Shilpa Shetty and superstar Amitabh Bachchan. In 2010, when the fourth season was being conceptualised, Amitabh Bachchan had to be replaced because of his other commitments. And while Salman Khan came on board to start an iconic partnership, he wasn’t the makers’ first choice as host.
This superstar was supposed to host Bigg Boss, not Salman Khan
The original choice to replace Amitabh was Shah Rukh Khan. The actor had already done the same when he had hosted Kaun Banega Crorepati for one season in the veteran actor’s absence. The makers of Bigg Boss felt that with his star power and charisma, Shah Rukh would be the obvious fit. In fact, things got as far as negotiations as well, with the channel and production team talking to Shah Rukh about hosting Bigg Boss. Eventually, the actor refused to come on board.
Why Shah Rukh Khan rejected Bigg Boss
It was Salman Khan who revealed the reason behind Shah Rukh’s rejection in a press conference years later. In a viral video, the actor said, “Do you guys know about this? No, Shah Rukh was the original choice of Bigg Boss. But he was shooting, and he had some, shoulder ka jo injury tha uska pehle (he had that shoulder injury from earlier), and he was shooting somewhere he couldn’t make it down, and so he couldn’t do the show, and that’s how I got it.” Shah Rukh had sustained shoulder and back injuries while shooting Asoka in 2001. And he was also reportedly filming Anubhav Siha’s Ra.One at the time, which is why he could not take time out for Bigg Boss.
Salman Khan and Bigg Boss
In the end, Salman Khan was brought on board and the actor has hosted every season of Bigg Boss since. He was joined by Sanjay Dutt as co-host for the fifth season and Farah Khan pitched in for a few episodes in between when Salman was in prison but the actor has largely been the unchanged host of the reality show for 13 seasons now.
