The fifth season of the much-hyped reality show Bigg Boss kickstarted with the unveiling of the 14 contestants, including the only male celebrity Shakti Kapoor and wife of convicted serial killer Charles Sobhraj, Nihika Biswas. Actress-cum-reality TV star Pooja Bedi, singer-actress Raageshwari Loomba, celebrity trans-gender Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, wrestler Sonika Kaliraman, actress Shraddha Sharma, model-actress Shonali Nagrani, actress Mahek Chahal, Afghani beauty queen Vida Samdajai, TV actress Juhi Parmar, dancer Gulabi Sapera, model-VJ Pooja Mishra, and news anchor Mandeep Belvi are the other participants who will be locked in the Bigg Boss` house. The format of the show has undergone a change from the previous seasons which had seven male and seven female contestants. The Bigg Boss house too has been shifted from Lonavala to Karjat. While bollywood baddie Shakti is famous for playing a molester on-screen, 22-year-old Nihita shot to fame after marrying Sobhraj, who is serving life imprisonment in Nepal. Raageshwari, who was diagnosed with Bell`s palsy and had almost given up on her career, is gearing to launch her first album in five years. Pooja Bedi, who shot to fame in Aamir Khan starrer film `Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar`, was earlier seen in reality shows like `Nach Baliye`, `Khatron ke Khiladi` and `Maa Exchange`. Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, who is also a social activist, continues the tradition of representing sexual minorities on the show which started with actor Bobby Darling, followed by designer Rohit Verma and Pakistan`s Begum Nawazish Althat. Laxmi has been part of TV shows like `Sach Ka Saamna` and `Raaz Picchle Janam Ka`