Ahead of Bigg Boss Kannada 12, recapping the 11 winners of the popular reality show
Bigg Boss Kannada 12 is set to kick off with a grand launch on September 28, with Kiccha Sudeep at the helm as host. Here’s a look at the previous winners of the show
Kiccha Sudeep returns to host Bigg Boss Kannada 12
Last Updated: 10.23 PM, Sep 03, 2025
The 12th season of the popular reality show Bigg Boss Kannada will begin on September 28, at a new set, with the promise of new and interesting contestants too. Kiccha Sudeep returns to host the show, which he’d briefly dissociated from at the end of Season 11, after the showrunners promised to weed out all the issues that had been plaguing it since Season 10, including the tonality. While fans have already begun speculating possible contestants, there’s also a strong buzz that Season 12 could be the year with a female winner.
In the 11 seasons so far, there’s been only one woman who’s taken the title home – actress Shruthi Krishna in Season 3. While there have been strong female contestants year-on-year in the top 5, victory has eluded them.
Ahead of Bigg Boss Kannada 12, which will be on JioHotstar (via OTTplay Premium also), here’s a look at the winners over the years…
Bigg Boss Kannada Season 1
The very first season of Bigg Boss Kannada was held in Lonava, at the same set as the main Hindi Bigg Boss, with host Kiccha Sudeep. 17 contestants, including guests and wild card entrants, all of who were film actors, participated in this season, which was won by Vijay Raghavendra.
Bigg Boss Kannada Season 2
Also held in Lonava, Bigg Boss Kannada Season 2 had 16 film actor contestants, with the final tussle between Akul Balaji and Srujan Lokesh. Akul won this battle.
Bigg Boss Kannada Season 3
The show moved to Bengaluru with 18 contestants, 10 of who were women. Veteran actress Shruthi Krishna won the season and remains the only woman winner of the reality show so far. The show was often in the news because of contestant Huccha Venkat.
Bigg Boss Kannada Season 4
Olle Huduga Pratham won the fourth season of the show, despite massive competition from Malavika Avinash and Kirik Keerthy. Pratham and Bhuvann Ponnanna were also often at loggerheads during the show.
Bigg Boss Kannada Season 5
Popular rapper and music composer Chandan Shetty won season 5. He met his now ex-wife Niveditha Gowda on the show. She was a runner-up, along with J Karthik.
Bigg Boss Kannada Season 6
Season 6 went to Shashi Kumar, amid tough competition from RJ Rapid Rashmi and actress Kavitha Gowda. This season had 20 contestants in all.
Bigg Boss Kannada Season 7
By the time Shine Shetty emerged winner and was enjoying his new-found popularity, the pandemic struck. Two years later, as the world limped back to normalcy, two more seasons of the show had been held.
Also read: Bigg Boss Kannada 12: Speculation galore about tentative contestants as grand opening date is set
Bigg Boss Kannada Season 8
Comedian Manju Pavagada was adjudged winner. Vaishnavi Gowda and Divya Uruduga were among the finalists, but did not make it. Divya met her partner racer Aravind KP on the show.
Bigg Boss Kannada Season 9
Ahead of Season 9, there was a 6-week long OTT only mini season, the top 4 contestants of which headed to the main season. This was the year that introduced a newbies vs former contestants format. Former participants like Arun Sagar and Divya Uruduga were a part of the season, but it was OTT winner Roopesh Shetty who won the main season also.
Bigg Boss Kannada Season 10
This was the first season after the departure of showrunner Paramesh Gundkal and had a mix of TV and film celebrities and commoners with some level of popularity as contestants. Karthik Mahesh won the show, although it was widely speculated that Sangeetha Sringeri would pip him to the title.
Bigg Boss Kannada Season 11
This was one of the most problematic seasons so far, with a major controversy breaking out over the heaven and hell concept. It was also the season that prompted host Sudeep to call it quits, although he later reconciled with the showrunners. Hanumantha Lamani won the show.
FAQs
Q. Who is the host of Bigg Boss Kannada?
A. Kannada superstar Kiccha Sudeep has been the host of Bigg Boss Kannada since Season 1. He is currently contracted to be on board as host until Season 15, at least.
Q. Where will Bigg Boss Kannada 12 be available?
A. Bigg Boss Kannada 12 will be telecast on Colors Kannada. Broadcast partner is JioHotstar, which is also available via OTTplay Premium