Trupti Desai offered reality show

Women’s rights activist Trupti Desai on Monday confirmed to The Asian Age that she had been asked to participate in the popular reality show Bigg Boss. However, she had told them she would participate in the show only if they obliged with a female voiceover for the series, Ms Desai said. Ms Desai claimed she received the offer from the television channel (Colors) concerned, and was still considering it. “I am ready to enter the (Bigg Boss) house. During my meeting with the TV channel and its producers, I conveyed to them that only if they rope in a woman as the voice of Bigg Boss, would I accept the offer,” Ms Desai said.

She also said the channel had scheduled a meeting on September 19, when they would discuss the matter in detail with her. “I have asked them to theme it around women empowerment and meanwhile, I need to figure out how to continue my work for the three months that I will be inside the house,” she added.

Since its inception, a male voiceover has been used for the Bigg Boss, which follows the format of the popular international reality show, Big Brother. “I have not given them any confirmation and had told them during the meeting to give a thought over my condition and get back to me,” she said. Ms Desai added it wouldn’t be easy for her to stay in the house for a long period, as she has campaigns lined up for the coming months, but believes the show is a good platform to promote gender equality.

Colors TV, however, is yet to make an official announcement on the contestants in the upcoming season, which will be hosted by superstar Salman Khan.

If the activist, who emerged as the face of women’s rights movement to get equal access to places of worship in India, joins the new season, she will join the long list of contestants with political and activism backgrounds appearing on the show earlier, including Rahul Mahajan, Sanjay Nirupam, Manoj Tiwari, Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, and Sampat Pal Devi, who heads Gulab Gang.