Bigg Boss Agnipariksha

Bigg Boss Agnipariksha is a digital pre-show of Bigg Boss 9 Telugu and a spin-off of the Indian reality television show Bigg Boss. The pre-show involves selecting commoner contestants for the main show. The show airs exclusively on JioStar's streaming service platform JioHotstar. The show premiered on 22 August 2025 with former Bigg Boss contestants Sreemukhi as host and Abijeet, Bindu Madhavi, Navdeep as judges.^[1][2][3]

The show feature 15 selected commoners compete to earn their spot in the Bigg Boss Telugu 9 house.^[4]

On 28 June 2025, the makers of the show released a promo where Nagarjuna announced that commoners can participate in season 9. The auditions were done by bb9.jiostar.com website.^[5]

On 31 July 2025, main host Nagarjuna announced that 45 commoners are initially selected to face a rigorous "Agnipariksha" to earn their spot in the Bigg Boss house.^[6]

On 13 August 2025, the makers of the show revealed the promo for its pre-show, Bigg Boss Agnipariksha with the tagline "The BIGG before the BIGGEST". The show sets the tone for a fiery battle, as hopefuls compete for a coveted entry ticket into the Bigg Boss house. The promo also introduced former Bigg Boss Telugu contestants Sreemukhi as host and Abijeet, Bindu Madhavi, Navdeep as judges of the show.^[7]

The pre-show will premiere from August 22, 2025, to September 5, 2025, and will be streamed exclusively on JioHotstar.^[8]

The initial call for applications was made on the bb9.jiostar.com website. Applicants had to register and upload a short video explaining why they deserve to be on the show.^[9][10]

The makers shortlisted thousands of applications into smaller group of candidates based on their video submissions, personality, and screen presence in five levels.^[11][12]

• Level 1: Initial Screening, Out of lakhs of applications, around 200 candidates are selected based on their videos, personality, and screen presence.^[11][12]
• Level 2: Phone Interview, From those, 100 people receive a call for the next round.^[12]
• Level 3: Group Discussion Round, These 100 are filtered down to 40 candidates after a group task.^[12]
• Level 4: In-Person Interviews, Judges and even former contestants interview the 40, selecting the top 15.^[12]
• Level 5: Compete in tasks and the public votes to pick the commoners who will officially enter the house!^[12]

Former Bigg Boss contestants are participated in the show as host and judges.^[2][13]

• Abijeet: Actor, The winner of Bigg Boss Telugu 4, he is a part of the pre-show's judging panel. With his calm demeanour and sharp decision-making, he is going to evaluate contestants based on their mental agility.^[13]
• Bindu Madhavi: Actress, The first female winner of Bigg Boss Telugu in the Bigg Boss Non-Stop OTT season, she is a part of the pre-show's judging panel. With her determination, gameplay, and unwavering spirit. She is now returning to the show as a judge of the pre-show, challenging the participants in a fierce battle.^[13]
• Navdeep: Actor, Second Runner-up of Bigg Boss Telugu 1, he is well known for his playful personality and wittiness, earning him the "entertainer of the house" title. He is a part of the pre-show's judging panel, testing the candidates’ adaptability and humour.^[13]
• Sreemukhi: TV Host, actress, Runner-up of Bigg Boss Telugu 3, She is now part of pre-show's host responsibilities. With her vibrant personality and strategic gameplay. She is now set to steer the pre-show with her infectious energy and sharp hosting.^[13]

The makers shortlisted 45 commoner candidates to participate in the Agnipariksha pre-show. The mastermind judges will evaluate the participants based on their physical strength, mental agility, and humour. They will wield a green signal for approval and a red signal for rejection to select 15 contestants for the show. After selection process, the contestants compete in tasks, judged by former contestants Abijeet, Bindu Madhavi, and Navdeep. There will also be public voting for the selection. The selected candidates will join the main show along with celebrity contestants.^[1][7] This was also the first in Telugu reality show history to have a drag queen as a participant, where Patruni Sastry was featured.^[14][15]

The principal photography of the show began on 9 August 2025 in Annapurna Studios, Hyderabad.^[16]

• The contestants who gets three green signals from judges will directly selects to Top 15.
• The contestants who gets three red signals from judges will not be selected to the show.
• If the contestants had got either one or two green signals, then they will kept on hold for further rounds.

  Male Contestants   Female Contestants   Trans Contestants

The contestants placed "On Hold" competed in two levels to guarantee their spot in the Top 15.

Abu Bakkar, Alekya, Khetamma, Nikita, Sai Krishna, Sri Teja and Urmila were eliminated.

The best performer of the task was granted a vote appeal, while the best player of the episode, chosen by the judges, received a star and a vote appeal. The judges also selected a worst player, from episode 8 worst player was given a yellow card; if a contestant receives two yellow cards, they are eliminated.

Voting lines for the Top 15 were opened, with the results scheduled to be revealed during the premiere of Bigg Boss 9.

During the Grand Launch of Bigg Boss 9, Kalyan, Priya, and Pavan entered the house as public vote selections, while Harish, Srija and Manish were chosen by the jury – Bindhu Madhavi, Navdeep and Sreemukhi respectively.