Mumbai:
Rakhi Sawant, Pamela Anderson, Shakti Kapoor, Veena Malik used Bigg Boss to make a quick buck, and to grab their 15 minutes of fame. Swam Agnivesh, who joins the reality show tonight, insists he has a loftier agenda.
"I want to help introduce change in society," he said in Mumbai this morning. "I see it as a powerful medium to reach the youth with my message," he said.
How the 74-year-old activist, known for his work to check bonded labour, plans to weave in messages against malnutrition and female infanticide into Season 5 of a show that thrives upon Lowest Common Denominator appeal may fox others. But the activist says don't underestimate either Bigg Boss, or him. "I am not a contestant. I am a guest," he stated, adding that he presumes this means he is exempt from the requirement to dance on air. "I saw some episodes of the show...and I didn't see anything objectionable. People do fight on the show sometimes, but it's no worse than how our MPs behave sometimes," he said.
Swami Agnivesh, once closely affiliated with Anna Hazare's anti-corruption movement, featured in a bitter and public falling out with the Gandhian's team. The Bigg Boss appearance is seen by some as his unlikely choice for an image make-over. If it's a calculated risk, the math doesn't include the fat fees usually paid to contestants, according to the activist. "It's not about the money," he said. Signing amounts usually begin at five lakhs, and run into crores, depending on how long a contestant survives on the show.
A word to the wise from Shakti Kapoor: this is not a show for messages, he said.