The nominations task that sparked it all

In the latest episode of Bigg Boss 19, housemates were divided into pairs—each pair had to silently count 19 minutes. The one farthest from the target would be nominated. Others were allowed to distract but not help.

During the task, Kunickaa got into an ugly spat with Tanya Mittal, taunting her mother’s upbringing for not teaching her how to cook. Kunickaa admitted she said it and stood by it, leaving Tanya in tears and the house against her.

Amaal, who was paired with Kunickaa, decided to take revenge. To punish her for dragging someone’s family, he decided to quit the task within five minutes, automatically nominating both of them. It was a fair, “democratic” move. But Bigg Boss wasn’t happy.

Before the task could even begin, BB summoned Amaal to the confession room, instructing him not to “self-nominate”. When Amaal explained he was fed up with Kunickaa’s behaviour and even called out the makers for bringing her son Ayaan on the show to garner sympathy, BB insisted he play “fairly”.

What shocked me more was BB’s claim that “in previous seasons, contestants have never been allowed to self-nominate”, a statement many know isn’t true. BB’s intervention only flared the suspicions of bias towards Kunickaa and this raises a serious question on the theme of the show which promised to give decision-making powers to contestants.

The Weekend KA Sailing 'Protection Plan'

This wasn’t the first time Kunickaa dodged elimination. Last week, she received the least votes and was set to be evicted. But during Weekend Ka Vaar, BB introduced a twist, five contestants were given the “app room” advantage. Only Kunickaa and Mridul Tiwari got the choice to either save themselves from elimination or skip house duties. Conveniently, Kunickaa survived despite her poor vote count.

Salman Khan’s treatment of her has also raised questions. In the first Weekend Ka Vaar, Salman spared Kunickaa and her allies while blasting her rivals. He even highlighted Gaurav’s betrayal of her in a captaincy task but ignored how she betrayed him first, something only Farrhana dared to expose.

In the second Weekend Ka Vaar, when viewers expected Salman to slam Kunickaa for abandoning captaincy, he gave her just a mild scolding. Her food fight with Zeishaan Quadri was brushed aside, and instead her son Ayaan was brought in to narrate her struggles, flipping her image overnight from villain to victim.

Selective strictness in nominations

The bias was even clearer in the latest nominations. Abhishek Bajaj helped Nagma Mirajkar, breaking rules, yet instead of punishing him, BB nominated Nagma and Awez Darbar. Meanwhile, Kunickaa blatantly cheated by putting cotton in her ears. Instead of disqualifying her, BB said it was the captain’s job to spot cheating, not his. Since Baseer said nothing, Kunickaa walked free again.

The Bigger picture

Whether the house is against her or not, Kunickaa has BB’s backing. She is being projected as a “one-woman army”, whether as a hero or villain. But it’s not the audience keeping her in the game, it’s Bigg Boss.

Amaal Mallik, however, has emerged as the only one brave enough to challenge BB’s bias, even if unintentionally. Thanks to Salman’s reality check last week, he seems ready to play his own game. Now the big question remains: Will Salman finally call out Kunickaa for her remarks on Tanya Mittal? With Weekend Ka Vaar around the corner, all eyes are on him.