Ban on Sikandar actor Salman Khan’s Bigg Boss? BJP MP demands action for promoting ‘obscenity’. Who is he?

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament (MP) Anil Firojiya has sought a ban on reality shows such as Bigg Boss hosted by Bollywood actor and Sikandar star Salman Khan for allegedly promoting obscenity and having become a cause of concern for Indian families.

Anil Firojiya, the saffron party MP from Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, urged the Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on March 27 in Parliament to 'immediately ban the telecast of Bigg Boss and other similar programmes."

Firojiya also criticised the show’s host and Sikander actor Salman Khan in his speech in the Lok Sabha during the ongoing second leg of Budget Session of Parliament.

Firojiya said Bigg Boss's reach has been increasing due to the popularity and personality of Salman Khan. "But his role and vision for the country are often mired in controversies,” he said.

Why Ban Bigg Boss?

Bigg Boss is viewed by crores and over the years the ‘vulgarity’ in the reality show has increased, the MP said.

"This show began like any ordinary reality show. But, over the years, vulgarity and controversies on the show have increased which is not only dangerous for those viewing it but for the society at large,” Firojiya said, speaking during the Zero Hour in Lok Sabha. Krishna Prasad Tenneti, the TDP MP, presided over the house amid sloganeering by opposition MPs over various issues.

Firojiya accused Sikandar actor Salman Khan of not showing issues with the kind of seriousness that they deserved. He said the show's popularity and TRP was due to controversies and obscene conversations between participants. He accused the show of promoting ‘immoral behaviour’ due to abusive language and ‘filthy details' of the personal lives of the contestants, which, according to him, impacts youth and children.

Who is Anil Firojiya?

Anil Firojiya, 53, is a BJP MP from Ujjain. Firojiya was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time from the Madhya Pradesh seat in 2019. He won from Ujjain in 2024 as well. Before becoming an MP, Firojiya was a member of the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly (MLA) from the Tarana seat in Ujjain district from 2013 to 2018.

Firojiya was in the news in 2022 after he went on a mission to lose weight following Union Minister Nitin Gadkari's appeal. According to the offer, the BJP MP was assured ₹1,000 crore for every kg lost for his constituency. The Ujjain MP accepted the challenge and lost 32kg ever by October 2022.

What is Bigg Boss?

Bigg Boss is a reality show franchise based on the Dutch reality show Big Brother. Produced by Endemol Shine India through JioStar Network, the show has had 18 seasons so far. Many versions of the show are made internationally available through the OTT platform JioHotstar with 24/7 live stream.

Bigg Boss started in the Hindi language, and has since been extended into seven Indian languages, including Kannada, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi and Malayalam.

Contestants called "housemates" live together in a specially constructed house that is isolated from the outside world. Housemates are voted out, usually on a weekly basis, until only one remains and wins the cash prize. During their stay in the house, contestants are continuously monitored by live television cameras as well as personal audio microphones.

The reality show debuted on television in 2006 through Sony TV with Arshad Warsi as the host. It gained popularity after Shilpa Shetty emerged as the winner in Big Brother 5 and replaced Warsi as the host in the second season. Amitabh Bachchan hosted the show for the third season and Sikandar actor Salman Khan continues as a host from fourth season onwards.

Sanjay Dutt also hosted for fifth season along with Salman Khan. Farah Khan also hosted the spin off season of eighth season in absence of main host Salman Khan.

Sikandar releases on Eid

Salman Khan's highly anticipated action drama Sikandar is set to be theatrically released worldwide on 30 March 2025, in standard and IMAX formats, coinciding with Eid-al-Fitr – the Muslim festival that marks end Ramadan – the month-long fasting.

The movie's advance bookings witnessed a string sale ahead of release and have surged to ₹8.81 crore, inching closer to the ₹10 crore mark by March 27.