Ever since its birth in the year 2006, the show has gone on to branch out into other languages besides Hindi including in Kannada, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi and Malayalam as of date. An annual ritual as it has been, a set of celebrities get locked inside a house to play their cards and reach the finishing line after 100 days from their day of entry. During the course, the housemates - as the contestants are called - undergo various tasks performed as a team and individually both. A process of elimination takes place every week, putting performances under scrutiny and of course, the weakest is shown the door.

In these 12 years, contestants have changed, tasks have changed, the concept has evolved, themes been explored but not Bhaijaan. The debut season was hosted by Arshad Warsi followed by Shilpa Shetty Kundra, who has had a first-hand experience of winning a reality show abroad based on a similar concept. The baton was then passed onto megastar Amitabh Bachchan, and when it comes to hosting a show, it cannot get better than Big B. But Bigg Boss is not a usual playground, because it requires a lot more than acting brilliance and an anchoring finesse. And that is why only someone who has been as close as Salman to look the storm in the eye and wink each time can enjoy a swim in these otherwise troubled waters.

Salman and his set of skills haven't been spared a metamorphosis though. From mouthing what we can call as dialogues to reviewing behavior under his personal microscope to schooling inmates on not stepping as much as a toe out of line - the Bollywood superstar certainly brings a lot more than just entertainment to the table. He is a celebrity with a taste of the trials of a commoner; that definitely puts him above all of his counterparts in the league when speaking of Bigg Boss hosts. So, participants can yell all they want, break rules for all he cares, misbehave like hell hath no fury but before it all catches the eye, they better have a trick up their sleeve because Salman Khan is not in the habit of accepting denial and excuses. A tough taskmaster as he comes, they don't call him the hit machine for anything.

As we wait for the needles of the clock at 90 degrees again (read 9 pm), we are keeping our popcorn ready because the next 100 days are going to a heck of a ride!