A 3 am drive to Lonavla took Sunday Mid Day writer Janaki Viswanathan for a sleep-dance-eat 18 hours in a wall-less house with 14 other journalists. 96 days at the Bigg Boss 4 House? Never!

A 3 am drive to Lonavla took Sunday Mid Day writer Janaki Viswanathan for a sleep-dance-eat 18 hours in a wall-less house with 14 other journalists. 96 days at the Bigg Boss 4 House? Never!u00a0

One wonders how Rahul Mahajan, Raja Chaudhary and Ashutosh Rana survived 80 days at the Bigg Boss 2 House before scaling the walls to attempt a great escape. I wanted to do that barely eight hours into the game.

u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0The exterior of the Bigg Boss House that's quite lovely when
u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0 it's floodlit after sundown.

A remake of Big Brother, Bigg Boss locks up a bunch of celebs for 96 days (this time) in a secluded house. No cell phones, reading or writing material, TV, newspapers. They go nearly loco at the end of it.

For the last two seasons, Colors, the channel that airs the show, has been dropping off a bunch of journalists on set before the season kicks off. I took the plunge this time.u00a0

My day started at 3.45 am on September 30 on a private car drive to Lonavla (stands 111 km away), with no idea about who the other 13 'contestants' would be. Very posh.

Blindfolded party
By 8 am, a bunch of bleary-eyed print and broadcast media (sansani and sensible, both) surrendered their belongings. Microphones in side-slung satchels, eyes blindfolded, we were led to the House ufffdu00a0 with this sinking feeling that an execution squad awaited us. If you could call a 50-camera setup an execution squad.

The House is big and bright with a naturally-lit ceiling. A living area with a gym on the side, an open kitchen and dining room, and a unisex bedroom.

The confession room has a secret step which appears only when He calls for you, and a yellow throne with angel wings!

Outdoors stand the bathrooms and toilets, all with non-functioning locks. One journo was convinced it was for added controversy, but we were assured that it'd be fixed soon.

They watch but don't listen
The cameras are everywhere you look, and some places where you can't. We made several requests to the seeing eye. We begged for a Salman Khan visit. As the day progressed, we asked Bigg Boss to inform us of the Ayodhya verdict. And as day turned to night, to let us out. Not once did He relent.

The loud booming Voice welcomed us and set us rules. We were to speak in shuddh Hindi, wear our mics at all times (there's a mic in the loo!) and prepare breakfast.

Breakfast done, we wandered off to the bedroom. What do a bunch of journos do? They talk of work. Stories they missed and stories they broke, stars they met, stars they didn't, and TRPs (or readership) that peaked. It's exhausting.

Some of us fell asleep when the Voice set us a task. We had to choreograph dance steps to a track on a CD given to us, and then perform it in the activity area outdoors when Bigg Boss played the song.

We were sure it would be Munni badnaam hui, but the discman sang the Bigg Boss theme. Dance steps finalised, we waited for our performance. And waited. Later, the crew said they wanted to give us a whiff of the frustration contestants feel. We felt it. As inertia set in, we wandered from the bedroom for catnaps, to the living room, outdoors and to the kitchen.

The moment of truth
As the night lights came on, the Voice called two journos to the Confession Room. In a flash, it felt like a Bigg Boss episode. We wondered why they'd been summoned. They emerged, refusing to say anything. Another journo was called. He packed his bag and left.

The air was thick with rumours. Salman Khan was on set, someone said. One of the journos had been asked to stay on as a contestant, another insisted. Bigg Boss had revealed his identity to the journos who were called in, argued a third. We were in character.

We were asked to nominate one person for elimination. We sat around, smiling nervously, as we nominated (I received a nomination too, but remained composed). The Voice announced our punishment for speaking in English and sleeping in the day--the one with most nominations would decide who'd be eliminated.
u00a0
Another left as we wondered when we'd be free to go. As if on cue, Salman Khan hits boomed on the speakers and we broke into dance, delighted at a chance to DO something. Music over, the Voice told us how lucky we were to be in the House, then ordered us to pack up and leave. Phew!

Blindfolded, we walked to the main gate for tearful reunions with our cell phones. We'd been very entertaining, the Colors crew insisted. But what did the other two journos talk of in the Confession Room? The debate continued on the drive back to Mumbai. Different story.

Grabs from Thursday's footage

u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0Janaki Viswanathan being blindfolded and strapped with a
u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0mic-in-a-slingbag before stepping into the Bigg Boss House.

u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0 A tad nervous at the nomination round.It was briefly
u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0forgotten that u00a0we'd be leaving at midnight anyway.

Sidelights
our bigg book of complaints
>We were given just one task.
>Nowhere did the rules say that sleeping in the day was not allowed.
>The locks on the washroom doors don't work.
You'd make for a great contestant, if
>You love to talk.
>You are prone to drama.
>You enjoy planning and cooking elaborate meals.
>You believe rumours just as quickly as you spread them.
>You are enthusiastic about any task given. (I tested negative for most of the above)
Our Bigg discovery
>There are cameras within mirror-like surfaces all around the House. Live cameramen are constantly filming you, some even taking still shots.
>If you listen close enough, there are tell-tale signs of their presence. Muffled voices, coughs, sounds of dropping camera lensesu00a0 andu00a0 swearing under-the-breath.
>Best way to shock them: peer deep into the mirror and pull faces. Helps pass time too.