A flatmate is pleading for help. When another person mentioned the need for a therapist, he was hushed. Someone person claims that now that they've returned to the Bigg Boss premises, they're experiencing unpleasant feelings. There are a few examples from the current season 14 of Bigg Boss 14, and they are not one-offs.

Year after year, we've seen a trapped bunch of roommates act in unnatural ways, giving up their idiosyncrasies, fears, and instabilities for voyeuristic viewing and huge ratings.

Housemates have stated that the scenario frequently leads to suicide thoughts. While the show fosters and normalizes violent behavior, it also indicates perversion among spectators that love such "humilitainment," according to behavioural psychologists. Read more about Desi Serial.

Which begs the question: will the show have a long-term influence on both participants and viewers' mental health? Will it be deemed "natural" to engage in such behavior in a confined space week after week or to derive enjoyment from observing such behavior as a spectator?

Evicted contestant Jasmin Bhasin was seen criticizing roommates for their earlier remarks earlier this week. Jasmin has returned to the house to show her support for Aly Goni, her boyfriend. She sobbed and realized that all of her negative feelings from her time on the show had surfaced when she sought to excuse herself.

Rubina Dilaik has previously admitted to having suicide thoughts, temper issues, and a strained connection with her parents.

Perhaps being locked up for months has the same effect on you. You want to get rid of your own demons. Rubina had indicated she needed to see a doctor, and her husband, the now-evicted Abhinav Shukla, had pleaded with her not to say it on camera.

"Bigg Boss is an intriguing psychological experiment in which candidates are locked in a room with limited access to the outside world. Even during the epidemic (when they were stuck within the house), people had cellphone connectivity, but that is not the case in the (Bigg Boss) house,” Sunil Mittal, Director, Cosmos Institute of Mental Health and Behavioural Sciences (CIMBS), told IANS.

Staying at the residence is compared to "prison" by Mittal.

The psychologist claimed that the show encourages violence, violent behavior, and the normalization of harassment, saying, "It has a great effect on the mental health of those who are inside and people who are watching it."

"It standardizes a particular dialect. I understand that in real life, abusing and swearing language are used, but what about in the context of the show? Then there's TRP's added drama,” he explained.

According to mental psychiatrist Radhika Bapat, shows like Bigg Boss cater to people's voyeuristic impulses.

"It's perverse to have access to secrets by looking through a peephole. They argue that the forbidden has an attraction that makes it irresistibly appealing. "There's also the psychological term 'humilitainment,' which refers to the desire for you and me as spectators to be drawn to epic degradation and subjection of actual beings, and it's employed with such reality ‘dramas,'” Bapat told IANS.

As Mittal points out, the drama has real-world consequences.

"People who witness it become what they see and hear, and dramatic conduct becomes the standard for them.”

People are imbued with words, body language, and offensive behavior,” Mittal remarked.

"It praises and excuses bullying, and it brings out the worst in people who are confined to their homes,” says the author. People watch it for voyeurism's sake. There is also a lot of body slamming. After hearing it on the media, one of my young patients referred to her aunt as a "moti bhains" (fat buffalo). They were previously tasked with making fun of the mental institution's "patients." As a result, it allows for disrespectful behavior, dramatized hysterical behavior and language, and it puts pressure on the participants, prompting them to cry and break down,” Mittal explained.

Then there's the difficult task of keeping the participants out of the Bigg Boss zone until the show ends.

"It's like coming out of prison,” Mittal added, "with people opting for treatment to reclaim their lives.”

"When people blur the line between this reality television'show' and their actual reality, whether consciously or subconsciously, it can cause disaster in their personal lives,” Bapat says. It's important to remember the difference between real and fake drama.”

To counteract this, Samir Parikh, Director and Head of the Mental Health and Behavioural Sciences Department at Fortis Healthcare in New Delhi, emphasizes the significance of media literacy.

"They must be able to understand that it is a representation of something that does not exist in reality. It's a developing scenario, and if you grasp that, you'll be fine,” he explained.

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