First, we had host Kamal Haasan welcome live audiences back to the show. Of course, he regaled us with this one too many trips down memory lane
Contestant No 1: Isaivani - A brilliant singer, a wonderful daughter, and an important voice in the crusade for representationContestant No 2: Raju Jayamohan - A multi-talented performer. His mimicry skills was established by him pulling off an impeccable impersonation of his guru, K Bhagyaraj, who digitally wished him tooContestant No 3: Mathumitha A German-based designer and model with roots in Sri Lanka, Mathumitha, who presently works in IT, wants to make a name for herself. Well, she is at the right place la?Contestant No 4: Abishek Raaja - A popular cinema reviewer, interviewer, and an influential voice on social media, Abishek can also be called the poster boy of Tamil cinema's meme and review cultureContestant No 5: Namitha - The first trans contestant of the reality show speaks her mind about the reason to be on it. A successful model and actor, she aims to train the spotlight on her community.After receiving a book from Namitha, Kamal Haasan goes on to give his first book recommendation of the show. He recommends Gnanakoothan KavidhaigalContestant No 6: Priyanka Deshpande - The Numero Uno anchor of Vijay Television enters the Bigg Boss House. Known for making a mark and winning hearts through sheer grit and perseverance, interestingA surprise performance by former housemate Kavin, who also promoted his latest Disney+ Hotstar release, LiftContestant No 7: Abhinay Vaddi A farming enthusiast, an actor, and the grandson of the legendary Gemini Ganesan and Savithri, Abhinay also shares a connect with the host. Anyhoo...Contestant No 8: Pavni - Known for her stint as Nandini in Vijay TV's Chinna Thambi serial, Pavni hopes to use this opportunity to make people know and like Pavni and not just NandiniContestant No 9: Chinna Ponnu The Naatupura singer who shot to cinematic fame with her song in Rajinikanth's Chandramukhi has come a long way. She hopes to take folk music to a wider audienceContestant No 10: Nadia Chang - A social media sensation from Malaysia, Nadia hopes to capture the minds of the Tamil diaspora with her presence in the show that catapulted her fellow Malaysian, MugenContestant No 11: Varun - The Vels Company Scion, who is trying to make his mark in cinema steps into the house in the hope that audience will see him as more than just a product of nepotismContestant No 12: Imman Annachi - We have always seen him on our television screens and now... we will see him once again on the screen but through some 50 cameras. Interesting addition to the listContestant No 13: Suruthi - An engineer-turned-model, she is known for her ad campaigns on social media that went viral for all the right reasons. What better place than Bigg Boss to make a career?Contestant No 14: Akshara - The house has one more model, who has won acclaim in international pageants. An interesting presence who said all the right things in the promoContestant No 15: Ikky Berry - The name might not point at a Tamil-speaking person, but she is a physician-musician hailing from Thanjavur, and is as proud of her creative side as she is of her rootsContestant No 16: Thamarai Selvi - A wonderful full-throated theatre artiste on the stage, and a docile soft-spoken woman off of it, Thamarai Selvi is a brilliant addition. Brings in a lot of balanceContestant No 17: Ciby - In Master, we saw him wake up the sleeping Vaathi and get him to raids and what nots. AInside the house, will he dance to his own tunes or others? PaakalaamContestant No 18: Niroop - An entrepreneur, a model, an actor, there are a lot of avenues he wants to make a mark in. well... let's hope this contestant beats the odds to come up trumps.The fifth season is locked and loaded. Hope to see all around every single day of what promises to be a cracker of a season. We will be here... just for you.