Inside Bigg Boss 20: A House of Colours, Chameleons, And Two Lives

Twenty seasons. Twenty years. And yet, walking into the Bigg Boss house still feels like entering a world you have only ever seen through a television screen.

When NDTV stepped inside the Bigg Boss 20 house, the first thing that struck me was that almost everything I had heard about it before entering was wrong. There had been whispers of an animal theme, a forest-inspired house and all kinds of wild theories. The truth is far more interesting.

This season is about duality.

Everything inside the house seems to have two sides - just like the people who will eventually live here. One personality on the surface, another waiting to emerge. A little bit like a chameleon, perhaps.

And yes, there are animals. Plenty of them.

As you enter, the sprawling lawn immediately catches your eye - the space where contestants will perform tasks, strategise, celebrate and, inevitably, have their share of fights. But then there is the snake. And the pool. And sitting dramatically by the pool is a giant shark head.

According to designer Varsha Jain, the shark was among the most challenging elements to create. Jain is the new designer of the Bigg Boss house, taking over after Omung Kumar, who designed the house for 19 seasons. Jain has previously designed some of the Bigg Boss houses in South India and also created the set for Anil Kapoor's India Ke Top 1 Percent. This time, she has brought her own colourful, theatrical aesthetic to the Hindi Bigg Boss house.

At the entrance stands a ringmaster, almost as if warning you that the circus is about to begin.

Inside, colours are everywhere - flowers, furniture, walls and quirky installations. But my eyes immediately went to what has always been one of the most iconic spaces in the Bigg Boss house: the kitchen.

This year, it comes with a BB Food Truck twist.

And honestly, what better place to put a food truck than the one room where food has historically been responsible for some of the biggest kalesh? This is where contestants will cook, complain about the salt, argue over portions, discuss who ate what, and perhaps sit around pretending to discuss dinner while actually plotting against someone.

Then comes one of the cutest elements in the house - a giant pink teapot straight out of Alice in Wonderland. It pours into a chair, making the chair look like a character in itself. What exactly is its purpose? That, we will have to wait and watch.

But the biggest mystery comes in the form of two doors.

One says 'Room No. 20'. The other simply says '2X'.

We weren't allowed to enter either space, but the doors themselves are enough to make you curious. The 2X door, in particular, is connected to Jeevandaan, a high-pressure challenge where contestants could find themselves pushed to either reveal an uncomfortable truth or make a confession while placed in pressure pods. The contestant who survives the challenge could walk away with something everyone inside the house wants - an extra lifeline in the game.

Two doors. Two possibilities. And perhaps, two lives.

The confession room, too, remains a mystery. We couldn't enter, but the passage leading to it is a glittering, almost surreal space filled with tiny lamps and mirrors, creating an air of anticipation.

At the dining table, the theme changes again. It is designed as a giant Snakes and Ladders board. And the metaphor is almost too perfect for Bigg Boss. You never really know who is the snake and who is climbing the ladder.

There is even a hot-air balloon installation adding another splash of colour.

And then, in the bedroom, the house gets even more intriguing. A giant beehive sits right in the middle, surrounded by tiny bees. Elsewhere, there is a scorpion and, of course, the chameleon.

Perhaps we don't need to explain those symbols. In a house where personalities can change overnight, where alliances can sting and where everyone is trying to climb higher, they seem pretty self-explanatory.

Spread across 10,000 square feet in Mumbai's Film City in Goregaon, the house is fitted with more than 100 cameras, ensuring that almost nothing goes unnoticed.

This year, 20 contestants are expected to enter - 17 at the beginning and three as wild-card entries.

But before they arrive, the house is almost like a stage waiting for its actors.

And after 20 years of watching people enter these doors, fight, fall in love, make friendships, break them, cry, laugh and reinvent themselves, the most exciting question isn't really what the house looks like.

Also Read | Inside Dalip Tahil's Mumbai Home Featuring Family Heirlooms, A Garden And A Pool