Most of the cable operators in the region owe their allegiance to Shiv Sena, which has upped the ante over participation of Pakistani model Veena Malik and Nawazish Ali in the show.
The new tactics was adopted by the Sena after its protests at the Bigg Boss house in Lonavala, a hill station near Mumbai, were stamped out. The Sena had organised a bundh at Lonavala, but the Maharashtra government remained firm and warned the Sainiks against any disruption of the show.
The Sainiks had stormed the bunglow, where the live shooting of the reality programme is going on, but they had to beat a hasty retreat after the police took strict action against them.
Sena supremo Bal Thackeray was livid over the government’s stand on providing security to the game show, and ordered the cable operators to black out the screening of Bigg Boss.
“We have nothing against the channel, but Balasaheb has made a request in the national interest, and so we shut the channel out,” the Cable Operators Distributors Association president Ganesh Naidu said.
The real reason behind cable operators giving in to the demands of the Sena is fear — fear of being beaten up and fear of their offices being vandalised. For common Mumbaikars, the question is why should a political party should decide what they should watch and what they shouldn’t, and are waiting for a government response.
“I just want to watch Bigg Boss. It is a game show and it really does not matter whether anyone belongs to Pakistan or not, so far as the show is interesting,” said an avid Bigg Boss fan.
Meanwhile, the Pune district administration issued a show cause notice to the producers of the Bigg Boss asking why shooting should not be stopped.