By Saurav Mehra Bigg Boss Tamil is one of the most popular reality television shows in Tamil Nadu. It is the Tamil-language version of the reality television format Bigg Boss, which is based on the international Big Brother format. The show brings together contestants from different backgrounds and places them inside the Bigg Boss house, where they live under constant camera surveillance while completing tasks, facing nominations and competing to survive weekly eliminations.
Bigg Boss Tamil premiered on 25 June 2017 on Star Vijay. Kamal Haasan hosted the first seven seasons and played an important role in establishing the programme. From Season 8, actor Vijay Sethupathi took over as the host. As of 2026, nine regular seasons of Bigg Boss Tamil have been completed. The show has produced winners from acting, music, television and other entertainment backgrounds.
Bigg Boss Tamil Winners List of All Seasons
| Season | Year | Winner | Runner-Up | Host |
| Season 1 | 2017 | Arav Nafeez | Snehan | Kamal Haasan |
| Season 2 | 2018 | Riythvika | Aishwarya Dutta | Kamal Haasan |
| Season 3 | 2019 | Mugen Rao | Sandy | Kamal Haasan |
| Season 4 | 2020–21 | Aari Arjunan | Balaji Murugadoss | Kamal Haasan |
| Season 5 | 2021–22 | Raju Jeyamohan | Priyanka Deshpande | Kamal Haasan |
| Season 6 | 2022–23 | Mohamed Azeem | Vikraman Radhakrishnan | Kamal Haasan |
| Season 7 | 2023–24 | Archana Ravichandran | Manichandra | Kamal Haasan |
| Season 8 | 2024–25 | Muthukumaran Jegatheesan | Soundariya Nanjundan | Vijay Sethupathi |
| Season 9 | 2025–26 | Divya Ganesh | R. Sabarinathan | Vijay Sethupathi |
Bigg Boss Tamil Season 1 Winner – Arav Nafeez
The first season of Bigg Boss Tamil premiered on 25 June 2017 on Star Vijay. Legendary actor Kamal Haasan made his debut as the host of the programme.
Season 1 ran for 98 days and featured 19 housemates, including regular and later entrants. The Bigg Boss house was constructed at EVP near Chennai.
Model and actor Arav Nafeez, popularly known as Arav, emerged as the first winner of Bigg Boss Tamil. Lyricist Snehan finished as the runner-up.
Arav received the Bigg Boss trophy along with a cash prize of ₹50 lakh. The grand finale was held on 30 September 2017.
The first season played an important role in establishing Bigg Boss as a major Tamil television reality franchise.
Bigg Boss Tamil Season 2 Winner – Riythvika
Bigg Boss Tamil Season 2 premiered on 17 June 2018, with Kamal Haasan returning as the host.
The season ran for 105 days and included 17 housemates. The Bigg Boss house near Chennai was renovated for the new season, with several changes made to its design.
Actress Riythvika emerged as the winner of Season 2, while actress Aishwarya Dutta finished as runner-up.
Riythvika became the first female winner of Bigg Boss Tamil. She received the winner’s trophy and a cash prize of ₹50 lakh. The grand finale took place on 30 September 2018.
Bigg Boss Tamil Season 3 Winner – Mugen Rao
Season 3 premiered on 23 June 2019, once again with Kamal Haasan as host.
The competition lasted for 105 days and featured 17 housemates. The Bigg Boss house was given a different design for the season, including elements inspired by Chettinad architecture.
Malaysian singer, actor and performer Mugen Rao won Bigg Boss Tamil Season 3. Choreographer Sandy finished as runner-up.
Mugen’s victory was notable because he became an international contestant to win the Bigg Boss Tamil title. He remained one of the strongest contestants during the later stages of the competition.
The grand finale was broadcast on 6 October 2019.
Bigg Boss Tamil Season 4 Winner – Aari Arjunan
The fourth season of Bigg Boss Tamil premiered on 4 October 2020. Its launch was later than the usual schedule because of circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kamal Haasan returned to host the programme for the fourth consecutive season.
Actor Aari Arjunan won Bigg Boss Tamil Season 4, while model and actor Balaji Murugadoss finished as the runner-up.
Season 4 had 18 housemates and ran for 105 days. Aari developed a strong following during the season and eventually won the title after receiving a large share of the final audience vote.
The grand finale took place on 17 January 2021.
Bigg Boss Tamil Season 5 Winner – Raju Jeyamohan
Bigg Boss Tamil Season 5 premiered on 3 October 2021 on Star Vijay and was also available digitally through Disney+ Hotstar.
Kamal Haasan returned as the main host for his fifth season. Actress Ramya Krishnan temporarily handled hosting duties for one week.
Television actor Raju Jeyamohan emerged as the Season 5 winner. Television presenter Priyanka Deshpande finished as runner-up.
The season featured 20 housemates and lasted 105 days. Raju became one of the most popular contestants of the season through his humour, interactions with other housemates and performance in the competition.
The grand finale was held on 16 January 2022.
Bigg Boss Tamil Season 6 Winner – Mohamed Azeem
Season 6 premiered on 9 October 2022, with Kamal Haasan returning for his sixth consecutive regular season as host.
The programme also expanded its digital presence, including continuous live-streaming coverage for viewers.
Television actor Mohamed Azeem won Bigg Boss Tamil Season 6. Vikraman Radhakrishnan finished as the runner-up.
The season featured 21 housemates and continued for 105 days. It included a varied group of television personalities, actors, performers and other participants.
The grand finale took place on 22 January 2023, when Azeem was officially declared the season’s winner.
Bigg Boss Tamil Season 7 Winner – Archana Ravichandran
Bigg Boss Tamil Season 7 premiered on 1 October 2023. Kamal Haasan returned as host for the seventh time.
Season 7 had 23 housemates in total and lasted 105 days. One of the biggest developments of the season was the success of Archana Ravichandran, who did not enter the house on the first day.
Archana entered as a wildcard contestant on Day 28 but gradually became one of the strongest contenders for the title.
She eventually won Bigg Boss Tamil Season 7, while Manichandra finished as runner-up.
Her victory was particularly notable because she became the first wildcard contestant to win a regular season of Bigg Boss Tamil.
The finale was held on 14 January 2024.
Season 7 was also Kamal Haasan’s final season as the regular host of Bigg Boss Tamil.
Bigg Boss Tamil Season 8 Winner – Muthukumaran Jegatheesan
Bigg Boss Tamil Season 8 marked a major change for the franchise. After hosting the first seven seasons, Kamal Haasan stepped away from the programme, and actor Vijay Sethupathi became the new host.
Season 8 premiered on 6 October 2024 on Star Vijay and Disney+ Hotstar.
The season featured 24 housemates and lasted 105 days.
Muthukumaran Jegatheesan emerged as the winner of Bigg Boss Tamil Season 8. Soundariya Nanjundan finished as the runner-up, while Vishal secured the next position among the finalists.
Muthukumaran entered the house on the first day and remained in the competition until the finale.
The grand finale was held on 19 January 2025, when Vijay Sethupathi announced Muthukumaran as the winner.
Bigg Boss Tamil Season 9 Winner – Divya Ganesh
Bigg Boss Tamil Season 9 premiered on 5 October 2025, with Vijay Sethupathi returning as host for his second consecutive season.
The season featured 24 housemates and ran for 105 days.
Actress Divya Ganesh emerged as the winner of Bigg Boss Tamil Season 9. She entered the competition as a wildcard contestant on Day 28 and went on to reach the grand finale.
- Sabarinathan finished as the runner-up, while Vikram secured the position behind the top two finalists.
The grand finale took place on 18 January 2026, when Divya Ganesh was officially declared the winner.
Her victory continued the success of wildcard contestants in Bigg Boss Tamil after Archana Ravichandran’s Season 7 win.
Bigg Boss Tamil Hosts Over the Years
The hosting role has played a major part in shaping Bigg Boss Tamil. Two main hosts have presented the regular television version through its first nine seasons.
- Kamal Haasan – Seasons 1 to 7
- Vijay Sethupathi – Seasons 8 and 9
Kamal Haasan hosted the programme continuously from its launch in 2017 through Season 7. His weekend episodes became an important part of the show’s identity, with discussions about events inside the house, contestant behaviour and eliminations.
Vijay Sethupathi took over from Season 8 in 2024 and continued with Season 9.
Ramya Krishnan also appeared as a temporary guest host during Season 5 when Kamal Haasan was unavailable.
Bigg Boss Ultimate Winner – Balaji Murugadoss
Apart from the regular television seasons, the Tamil franchise also introduced a digital spin-off called Bigg Boss Ultimate in 2022.
The programme premiered on 30 January 2022 and offered extensive live-streaming coverage through Disney+ Hotstar.
Kamal Haasan initially hosted the programme but stepped down after the opening weeks because of scheduling commitments. Actor Silambarasan, popularly known as STR or Simbu, subsequently took over hosting duties.
Balaji Murugadoss, who had earlier finished as the runner-up of Bigg Boss Tamil Season 4, won Bigg Boss Ultimate.
Niroop Nandakumar finished as the runner-up.
The competition ran for 70 days, and its grand finale was held on 10 April 2022. As Bigg Boss Ultimate was a separate digital spin-off, Balaji Murugadoss is not included among the winners of the numbered Bigg Boss Tamil television seasons.
Bigg Boss Tamil House and Format
Bigg Boss Tamil is filmed in Chennai, with specially constructed and redesigned houses used for different seasons.
Contestants, known as housemates, live together without normal contact with the outside world. Cameras and microphones continuously record their activities.
During each season, contestants participate in weekly tasks, captaincy competitions and other challenges. Housemates nominate contestants for eviction, while viewers generally play an important role in deciding who remains in the programme through voting.
The competition continues until a small group of finalists remains. Audience voting ultimately helps determine the winner during the grand finale.
Final Words
Bigg Boss Tamil has grown into one of the major reality television franchises in Tamil entertainment since its debut in 2017. From Arav Nafeez in Season 1 to Divya Ganesh in Season 9, every season has introduced a new set of contestants, rivalries, friendships, tasks and memorable moments.
Kamal Haasan established the programme as its host across the first seven seasons, while Vijay Sethupathi began a new phase of Bigg Boss Tamil from Season 8.
As of 2026, nine regular seasons have been completed, with Divya Ganesh being the latest Bigg Boss Tamil winner. The separate Bigg Boss Ultimate digital edition was won by Balaji Murugadoss in 2022.