Actor Silambarasan (also known as Simbu), who was last seen in the hit Tamil time-travel action film Maanaadu (2021), is the new host of the ongoing reality game show Bigg Boss Ultimate Tamil, replacing politician-actor Kamal Haasan.
The announcement was made on social media on Thursday by Disney+ Hotstar, where the show is currently streaming. A 40-second promo featuring Simbu was also released along with the announcement.
It is to be noted that the show will mark the actor’s maiden venture in the OTT space. As per the format of the show, the host will make appearances during the Saturday and Sunday episodes, when a contestant gets evicted. This means Simbu’s maiden episode is set to premiere on Saturday (February 26).
The announcement comes a few days after Haasan had announced his decision to opt-out of hosting the show.
On Sunday, Haasan, in a detailed statement, revealed that he has stepped down as the host, citing requirements to complete his upcoming Tamil film Vikram with director Lokesh Kanagaraj. Mentioning that the “rightly imposed” Covid-19 restrictions have impacted the works of Vikram, resulting in clashing of dates required for the show and film, he said it would be “unfair” to make artists and technicians wait for him. Besides starring, Haasan is also producing Vikram under his Raaj Kamal Films International banner.
Coincidentally, Haasan, who had continuously hosted all seasons of Bigg Boss Tamil, including the recently concluded fifth installment, also made his OTT debut with the digital version of the show.
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Meanwhile, Simbu has a handful of projects in the pipeline. The actor will once again collaborate with director Gautham Vasudev Menon for the action-drama Vendhu Thanindhathu Kaadu. He also has Pathu Thala, co-starring Gautham Karthik, and a spin-off of the 2013 hit comedy Idharkuthane Aasaipattai Balakumara, titled Corona Kumar, under Gokul’s directorial.