Big Boss Kannada is the Kannada version of the hugely popular reality television show, Bigg Boss. It airs on the television channel Colors Kannada and streams on Jio Cinema. The show was first aired in the year 2013 and has completed 11 seasons, with the 12th season in progress. Bigg Boss Kannada is produced by Endemol Shine India, which owns the global format of Big Brother.
Kannada superstar Kiccha Sudeepa is the host of Bigg Boss Kannada right from its inception. The show features contestants or housemates living in a custom-built house, facing tasks, nominations and evictions based on public voting.
| Season | Year | Winner | Host |
| 1 | 2013 | Vijay Raghavendra | Kiccha Sudeepa |
| 2 | 2014 | Akul Balaji | Kiccha Sudeepa |
| 3 | 2015-16 | Shruti | Kiccha Sudeepa |
| 4 | 2016-17 | Pratham | Kiccha Sudeepa |
| 5 | 2017-18 | Chandan Shetty | Kiccha Sudeepa |
| 6 | 2018-19 | Shashi Kumar | Kiccha Sudeepa |
| 7 | 2019-20 | Shine Shetty | Kiccha Sudeepa |
| 8 | 2021 | Manju Pavagada | Kiccha Sudeepa |
| 9 | 2022 | Roopesh Shetty | Kiccha Sudeepa |
| 10 | 2023-24 | Karthik Mahesh | Kiccha Sudeepa |
| 11 | 2024-25 | Hanumantha Lamani | Kiccha Sudeepa |
Big Boss Kannada Season 1 Winner- Vijay Raghavendra
Big Boss Kannada was launched on 24th March 2013 on ETV Kannada. Final episode was aired on 30th June 2013. Total number of episodes in this season stood at 99. Slogan for this season was Howdu Swami or Yes Sir. The show started with 15 housemates. Kiccha Sudeepa hosted the show.
Day-to-day tasks and activities were aired from Monday to Thursday, while Fridays were reserved for evictions. Vijay Raghavendra emerged as the winner of the debut season. He took home a prize money of INR 50,00,000. Arun Sagar was the runner up.
Big Boss Kannada Season 2 Winner- Akul Balaji
Bigg Boss Kannada Season 2 was telecasted on Asianet Suvarna. Its first episode aired on 29th June 2014, with the finale on 5th October 2014. The slogan for this season was Thamashene Alla or Not A Joke At All. Season 2 saw the introduction of an exclusive logo and house for the Kannada version. Number of episodes in this season was 98, while the number of contestants was 15. Kiccha Sudeepa continued as the host.
Weekly activities were aired from Monday to Friday, while eviction episodes with Sudeepa were aired on Saturdays. Akul Balaji won the title for this season. He was awarded a prize money of INR 50,00,000. Srujan Lokesh finished as the runner up.
Bigg Boss Kannada Season 3 Winner- Shruti
Third season of Bigg Boss Kannada returned to its previous broadcaster, which had rebranded to Colors Kannada from ETV Kannada. First episode was aired on 25th October 2015, with the final episode on 31st January 2016. Slogan for this season was Naatakakke Illi Jaaga Illa or There is no place for drama here. Season 3 took place in a house built exclusively for Kannada version at Innovative City, Bangalore. The season ran for 99 episodes, while the number of housemates was 18. Kiccha Sudeepa was the host for this season as well.
Daily episodes were aired from Monday to Friday at 9 pm IST, with the eviction episodes on Saturdays. Shruti was crowned winner of third season. She won a prize money of INR 50,00,000. Chandan Kumar was the runner up.
Bigg Boss Kannada Season 4 Winner- Pratham
Bigg Boss Kannada Season 4 first premiered on 9th October 2016, with the final episode on 29th January 2017. Slogan for this season was ‘Kandiro Mukhagala Kanade Iro Mukha or Unseen faces of the seen faces. Number of episodes in this season was 113. Kiccha Sudeepa continued as the host. This season saw the introduction of Bigg Boss Night Shift, a supplement to the main show featuring unseen footage and commentary. It was hosted by Rehman Haseeb.
18 contestants participated in the fourth season. Format remained the same, with eviction episodes on Saturdays. Pratham emerged as the winner of this season. He was awarded a prize money of INR 50,00,000. Kirik Keerthi was the runner up.
Bigg Boss Kannada Season 5 Winner- Chandan Shetty
Bigg Boss Kannada Season 5 was moved to Colors Super. First episode was premiered on 15th October 2017, with the finale on 28th January 2018. Major feature of this season was the inclusion of non-celebrity contestants selected through auditions. There was no tagline for this season. A total of 106 episodes made up the season. The number of housemates for this season was 20. Kiccha Sudeepa was the host yet again.
Broadcasting time was increased by 30 minutes in this season. Unseen content was not aired on television but streamed exclusively on Voot platform. Chandan Shetty was declared the winner and awarded a prize money of INR 50,00,000. Divakar finished as the runner up.
Bigg Boss Kannada Season 6 Winner- Shashi Kumar
The sixth season of Bigg Boss Kannada commenced on 21st October 2018 and ended on 27th January 2019. 99 episodes were aired in this season. All the episodes and highlights were streamed on Voot platform after airing on Colors Super and Colors Kannada HD. This season had 9 celebrities and 9 commoners as housemates, with 2 nominated contestants. Kiccha Sudeepa continued as the host.
Voting was enabled exclusively through Voot for this season. Shashi Kumar emerged as the winner. He bagged a prize money of INR 50,00,000. Naveen Sajju was the runner up.
Bigg Boss Kannada Season 7 Winner- Shine Shetty
Bigg Boss Season 7 shifted back to Colors Kannada. The season commenced on 13th October 2019 and ended on 2nd February 2020. Number of episodes in this season was 113. Celebrity model was reintroduced in this season, with all the 18 housemates being celebrities. Kiccha Sudeepa was the host for this season as well.
A change was made to the eviction format. Instead of evictions, the names of saved contestants were declared on Saturday episodes. Evictions were shifted to Sundays. The telecast time in this season was shifted to 10:30 pm IST from 9:00 pm IST. Shine Shetty won the seventh season. He was awarded a prize money of INR 50,00,000. Kuri Pratap finished as the runner up.
Bigg Boss Kannada Season 8 Winner- Manju Pavagada
Bigg Boss Kannada Season 8 was divided into two parts. The first part ran from 28th February 2021 to 9th May 2021, while the second part commenced on 23rd June 2021 and ended on 8th August 2021. Total number of episodes in this season was 118. Kiccha Sudeepa continued as the host.
20 contestants entered the Bigg Boss house. Manju Pavagada was declared the winner. She was awarded a prize money of INR 50,00,000. Aravind KP was the runner up.
Bigg Boss Kannada Season 9 Winner- Roopesh Shetty
The ninth season of Bigg Boss Kannada first premiered on 24th September 2022, with the final episode on 31st December 2022. This season comprised of 98 episodes. Number of housemates for this season was 18. Kiccha Sudeepa presented the show in this season ad well.
Roopesh Shetty emerged as the winner of season 9. He took home a prize money of INR 50,00,000. Rakesh Adiga finished as the runner up.
Bigg Boss Kannada Season 10 Winner- Karthik Mahesh
Bigg Boss Kannada Season 9 started airing from 8th October 2023 onwards. The final episode was telecasted on 28th January 2024. 112 episode were premiered in this season. Number of housemates who entered the Bigg Boss house on day one was 19. Kiccha Sudeepa hosted the show yet again.
Karthik Mahesh survived in the Bigg Boss house to win the season. He was awarded a prize money of INR 50,00,000. Drone Prathap was the runner up.
Bigg Boss Kannada Season 11 Winner- Hanumantha Lamani
The eleventh season of Bigg Boss Kannada commenced on 29th September 2024 and ended on 26th January 2025. This season lasted for 120 episodes and featured 20 candidates. Kiccha Sudeepa continued as the host.
Hanumantha Lamani was the crowned the winner of season 11. He won a prize money of INR 50,00,000. Trivikram finished as the runner up.
Conclusion
12th season of Bigg Boss Kannada is currently in progress. The season started on 28th September 2025. The show was suspended temporarily on 8th October 2025 due to concerns over environmental violations at the Bigg Boss house.