It is curtains on season four of Bigg Boss Malayalam, with actor and dancer Dilsha Prasannan crowned as the winner. In a grand gala finale on Sunday, Dilsha lifted the trophy and won a prize money of Rs 50 lakh, while musician Muhammad Diligent Blesslee and social media influencer Riyas Salim emerged as the first and second runners-up respectively. Actors Lakshmi Priya, Dhanya Mary Varghese and Sooraj Thelakkad were the other three finalists.
Dilsha, who had reportedly won 39% of the vote share among the six final contestants, expressed her gratitude to the show’s audience after receiving the trophy. “I was definitely hoping to complete 100 days here when I came to the Bigg Boss house, but I was not sure if I would be able to. The people around me were all great players, and there were a lot of games and strategies at play. But I was clueless, wondering what all of these meant, during my initial days here. Then I decided that I will remain true to myself and go forward. That’s how my journey here unfolded,” said Dilsha, who was also the first confirmed finalist of the show.
Pitched from the outset as inclusive of sexuality minorities with the tagline ‘ini sangathi colour aakum’ (it will be colourful now), the fourth season of Bigg Boss Malayalam was lauded for its commitment to queer representation. Two openly homosexual women, fitness trainer Jasmine M Moosa and influencer Aparna Mulberry, were among the initial contestants of the show, apart from another housemate, Aswin Vijay, who came out as gay on the show. Riyas, the second runner-up, who was a wild card entry, had garnered significant appreciation from activists and the queer community for his efforts to break patriarchal ideals and bring attention to a more progressive outlook on gender and sexuality through the show.
This is only the second season in the history of Bigg Boss Malayalam to see itself to conclusion after season one, which was won by actor and television presenter Sabumon Abdusamad. Both seasons two and three had to be cut short in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the latter’s winner (actor Manikuttan) was declared in an in-person event.