Most interesting reality show stars

The mother of all reality shows is back on air today; in its fifth season now, Bigg Boss looks fresh as a basket of daisies.

But every rose has its thorns and the rule applies, somewhat awkwardly, to daisies as well.

Here's a look at some of the more interesting contestants Bigg Boss, and host of other reality shows, has presented us with over the past few years.

Rakhi Sawant leads the pack. There is no other way to describe this highly ambitious starlet.

She's acted with Shah Rukh Khan, danced with Zayed Khan, loudly advertised breast implants and even spoken openly about rampant romps on the casting couch (though not necessarily her own).

Her presence on the first season of Bigg Boss gained her instant fame, what with her numerous catfights with her contestants reigning in the TRP's for the channel. She finished as one of the top four finalists.

Rakhi then surprised everybody with her new show, Rakhi Ka Swayamvar, where she held 'auditions' for a bunch of eager men waiting to marry her on national television.

The show was a stupendous success, with its premiere and finale shattering all records, and ended being engaged Elesh Parunjanwala.

However, on her next show, Pati, Patni Aur Woh, Rakhi announced that the two had separated due to irreconcilable differences, sparking rumours that the would-be marriage was nothing but a publicity stung.

What can be said about a man there is so much already known about? He first came into the news after his father, BJP General Secretary Pramod Mahajan was shot dead by his brother Pravin.

Exactly a month later, Rahul was admitted to Apollo hospital for an alleged cocaine overdose. Immediately after his discharge, he was arrested for possession and consumption of banned substances.

Next, his marriage to his first wife, Shweta Singh, collapsed after she accused him of domestic violence, ending in a bitter divorce.

Then 'reality' dawned on him in the form of Bigg Boss 2, where his flirtatious advances on starlet Payal Rohatgi and Abu Salem's former moll Monica Bedi, met with unprecedented success.

Rahul topped it off with the sequel to Rakhi Ka Swayamvar in the extremely popular Rahul Dulhaniya Le Jayega, where he met his now-wife Dimpy Ganguly, a Bengali model. Interestingly, she, too, accused him of beating her up and even walked out on him before reconciling with him again.

Perhaps the most polarizing contestant ever, Dolly Bindra featured on the fourth season of Bigg Boss.

The actress, who was also seen in films like Krazzy 4 and Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya, was rash and brash throughout her stint in the House; she picked fights with almost every contestant but chose to vent out her anger most on (eventual winner) Shweta Tiwari, going as far as calling her a "wanton woman" at one point.

This fiery contestant was finally evicted after getting into a physical fight with co-Housemate, Sameer Soni, who stepped in between Tiwari and Bindra when one of their rows went out of control; the Bigg Boss rules clearly state that physical violence is a strict no-no.

Another such contestant, though on a much smaller scale, was Deshdrohi actor, Kamaal Rashid Khan, or KRK, as he likes to be known.

Featuring on the third season of Bigg Boss, he was one of the most-watched celebrities on the show; perhaps his film, which is ranked amongst the worst ever made, had something to do with.

However, his short fuse and penchant for mocking his colleagues didn't sit well with anybody and KRK was nominated for eviction quite often. The final nail in the coffin, however, was when he fought with actor Bakhtiyaar Irani and designer Rohit Verma, even hitting out at the latter with a bottle.

Pretty much the only contestant to have actually gained any mileage from the show was Ameesha Patel's younger brother, Ashmit. He was fresh off the humiliation of a sagging career and a bad, public breakup with actress Ria Sen (which also involved a scandalous MMS) and badly needed a boost.

Known more for his intense romance with Pakistani model Veena Malik and propensity to model-actress Sara Khan than any actual personality traits, Ashmit Patel became one of the most highly followed contestants on the fourth edition of Bigg Boss.

While Sara when on to 'marry' Ali Merchant (more on that later), Ashmit bagged another reality show, this time as a host--in it, he taught aspiring youngsters how to woo any and every woman.

Both Veena Malik and Ashmit Patel are spotted frequently together; Veena was prominent at his birthday bash earlier this year and Ashmit is known to follow her around to most events. However, the two have remained tight-lipped about their relationship.

Pakistan's most controversial import yet, model-actress Veena Malik made quite a show out of Bigg Boss 4.

There's a reason this cross-border beauty was heralded as a celebrity in India; she acted as a whistleblower to one of cricket's most alarming spot fixing scams. Her ex-boyfriend, Pakistani paceman Mohammed Asif, was apparently involved in match fixing, a cover she blew the lid off with great fanfare.

Asif was found guilty and was made to exit the cricket squad. Meanwhile, Veena gained entry into the house of Bigg Boss, where she proved that men from all walks of life were entranced by her charms. Actor Ashmit Patel, in particular, was drawn in to her stunning good looks and charm.

While she may not have won, Veena made quite an impact on the show's audience; word is that she will soon be launched in a Bollywood venture.

It didn't end there, though. Through various statements made to various media portals, she boldly claimed she wanted to add more 'naughtiness' to the House, much like its parent show, Big Brother, which airs in the UK.

She still claims there was nothing going on between Ashmit and herself, but insiders claim there's a bunch of unseen footage from Bigg Boss 4 which would falsify those claims.

Nobody, though, tried as hard to stay in the limelight as a then 20-year-old Sara Khan.

The pretty model and television actress was seen canoodling with Ashmit Patel even though he was openly flirting with Veena Malik. To add to the drama, Sara's real-life boyfriend, actor Ali Merchant, was heard fuming when he saw Ashmit work his moves on Sara.

To cut a long story short, Sara and Ali staged the wedding of the century--right there on national television; Ali entered the House as a guess and the two got married on the show, making headlines across the country.

But right after the show ended, newspapers screamed that it was all staged, that the show's host channel had paid the couple somewhere between Rs. 35-50 lakhs to televise their nuptials. The rumours gained intensity when Sara and Ali went through a very public, acrimonious divorce.

Mention the word "interesting" and there is no way you can exclude model Poonam Pandey from the list.

Extremely bold and somewhat arrogant in her public display of affection (for herself), Poonam was one of the most-watched celebrities on Khatron Ke Khiladi--Torchaar, hosted by Akshay Kumar.

The 20-year-old model was apparently offered Rs. 50 lakhs for the show, an offer she could not refuse.

She might not have won, but she kept everybody on tenterhooks, dropping several hints in various interviews that she might just follow up on her promise to strip for the Indian cricket team if they won the World Cup.

While she hasn't delivered on that tantalizing prospect, her stint on the stunt-based show has apparently gotten her a slew of modelling offers and acting assignments ever since.

Here's a twister of a tale: Remember when Shilpa Shetty won Celebrity Big Brother, the globally syndicated show that Bigg Boss takes off from?

Well, you must, then, remember her journey to the top. Shilpa Shetty was racially abused by another contestant, the Queen of reality shows, Jade Goody.

On several successive episodes, that were broadcast to the entire United Kingdom, Goody went on a biased and unjustified rant against Shetty, twisting her name into several racial slurs, some of which involved the use of expletives and whatnot.

The controversy gained so much momentum, Goody was evicted from the Big Brother House. Through several interviews and appearances later on, she publicly apologized to Shetty, saying she was "shocked" with herself for saying such things.

In a curious move, Goody joined the second season of Bigg Boss, hosted by Shilpa Shetty. However, she quit early when she was diagnosed with Metastatic Cervical Cancer.

Jade Goody and Shilpa Shetty resolved their differences completely, well before the former's death on the 22nd of March, 2009. She was 27-years-old.

The Great Khali can place a hand on your chest and stop your heart without batting an eyelid; he can kick you into next year with a flick of his little toe; if he breathes hard enough, you might fly back and hit the nearest wall.

These were some of the myths surrounding Dalip Singh Rana, aka World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) wrestler The Great Khali. The reality finally came out in a supposedly scripted reality show.

Bigg Boss 4's eclectic line up added this formidale, 7'3" giant to itself, sparking unmatchable curiosity the world over; after all, The Great Khali's fans weren't limited to the Indian subcontinent.

Khali turned out to be a gentle giant, winning over everybody with his shy smile and warm demeanor. He got along extremely well with the show's host, superstar Salman Khan, who made no bones about his fondness for the wrestler.

Khali eventually finished as first runner up, winning hearts without a single pinfall.

She might be more famous for risque item numbers and infamous wardrobe malfunction, but model-actress Negar Khan sealed herself into the public eye with her appearance on Iss Jungle Se Mujhe Bachao!, the Indian version of the British reality show, I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!.

She was one of the boldest celebrities trapped in the Malaysian jungle, with a video of her bathing in nothing but an itsy-bitsy bikini top and a pink sarong gaining massive popularity on YouTube.

Otherwise known for her naughty remix Chadhti Jawani and the Chal hat item song from Shaadi Ka Laddoo, this Norwegian-Iranian model was also at the centre of a major wardrobe malfunction during a fashion show in Norway.

MTV Roadies is a format made to showcase the most vile, backstabbing, scheming contestants this side of Jersey Shore.

This isn't an underhanded dig at the show, it's stated fact; the makers themselves are unabashed about the format and language of the show. And it shows.

One such contestant, who exemplified everything all these qualities, was Gurmeet Kaur, aka Palak. A single YouTube search will reveal a ton of videos of her screaming at her fellow contestants, mouthing obscenities that would make most men cower in fear. She featured on the fifth season of the insanely popular show.

Palak was also part of Iss Jungle Se Mujhe Bachao!, where she featured under hear real name, Gurmeet Kaur. She was more of what she calls "herself" on the show, calmer and more restrained.

She says she left with better memories than the ones she has of Roadies 5.0, which she says is totally scripted; in fact, Raghu Ram, the show's creator and judge, apparently coaxed her into being as "b****y" as she could possibly get.

Her entire life reads like a reality shows; from two highly publicised sex tapes to nude photo shoots for Playboy and PETA, Pamela Anderson has done it all. And then some.

Which is why her three-day appearance on Bigg Boss 4 was a textbook case of how to market a reality show: She wafted in like a fresh breeze, injected the much-needed supreme eye-candy element, and left before you could say "NO! Come back!".

Her revealing white sari with a tight spaghetti blouse gained her instant fame (as if she needed any more), as did her homely demeanour and repartee with the contestants.

Starlet Payal Rohatgi, who is known for her bold image, stepped it up recently when she accused acclaimed director Dibakar Banerjee of selling her a wicked piece of furniture: the infamous Casting Couch.

Before that incident got her in the news, Bigg Boss 2 did it for her; her proximity to politician-playboy Rahul Mahajan, who was also heavily involved with another starlet, Monica Bedi, got her all the attention she desperately needed to save her flagging career.

She was as bold as ever, comfortably sporting bikinis and having no problems getting close to Mahajan.

Shweta Tiwari, television's most gorgeous bahu, took part in Bigg Boss 4, going on to win the show with energy to spare.

Her crumbling marriage to trouble actor Raja Chaudhary, which was compared quite creatively to former Hollywood couple Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards, was peppered with allegations of domestic violence and vulgar abuse; considering Raja's record, the audience didn't even blink before sympathising with his ex-wife.

She was crowned the winner amidst a flood of tears and a barrage of cheers, leading her to sign on another celebrity reality show, Iss Jungle Se Mujhe Bachao!. However, she quit the show early, apparently because she missed her daughter way too much.

Raja Chaudhary, television hottie Shweta Tiwari's ex-husband, is a colourful personatliy. A Bhojpuri superstar and producer, Chaudhary is almost always in the news for his various antics.

On Bigg Boss 2, Chaudhary was well-liked by audiences for his entertainment value and well-detested by the contestants for his vulgar language and repeated polemic.

He was nominated for eviction a record five times but was saved each time by audience votes. Even now, most people feel he should have won, considering he embodied the spirit of the show.

Queen of the item girls, Sambhavna Seth, was ousted from Bigg Boss 2 because she was too vulgar for family audiences.

She constantly picked on Payal Rohatgi, with whom she developed differences after the latter called her "down-market". Once evicted, Sambhavna went on a rant about how Rohatgi was "fake" and had slept in the same bed as Rahul Mahajan on numerous occasions.

She even claimed that she had spotted Payal and Rahul kiss each other and use the restroom together on the pretext of washing clothes; washing her own dirty linen in public obviously didn't seem like too much of a problem for the item girl.