The finale of Bigg Boss 18 is all set to take place today. One of the five finalists – Rajat Dalal, Vivian Dsena, Karanveer Mehra, Chum Darang and Avinash Mishra – will take home the trophy and the cash prize. (Also Read – Bigg Boss 18 winner will be Karan Veer Mehra: HT readers give their verdict)

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How much is the cash prize?

As per a Mint report, the cash prize this season is ₹50 lakh, the same as in Bigg Boss 17, when stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui took home the winner’s trophy. Additionally, the trophy this season is all-gold design, in tune with the interiors of the Bigg Boss house.

Cash prize over the years

However, the cash prize hasn’t remained the same over the years and over the 18 seasons of the popular reality show. The maximum amount has been ₹1 crore in the first five seasons – when actor Rahul Roy, MTV Roadies 6 winner Ashutosh Sharma, actors Vindu Dara Singh, Shweta Tiwari, and Juhi Parmar emerged victorious respectively.

The prize money dipped in season 6, and has mostly fluctuated every season ever since. The lowest it has been in season 8, when actor Gautam Gulati won ₹25 lakh. On Bigg Boss 12, actor Dipika Kakkar won ₹30 lakh while the late Sidharth Shukla got ₹50 lakh as the winner of Bigg Boss 13. Then Tejasswi Prakash won ₹40 lakh in Bigg Boss 15, and MC Stan took home ₹31.8 lakh on Bigg Boss 16.

However, guest contestants are known to earn much more across seasons. For instance, Canadian actor Pamela Anderson reportedly earned ₹2.5 crore for just a three-day gig on Bigg Boss 4. Meanwhile, actor Rimi Sen fetched ₹2 crore per week on Bigg Boss 15. ₹50 lakh was awarded to wrestler The Great Khali and cricketer Sreesanth for their eyeball-grabbing turns on Bigg Boss 4 and 12 respectively.

The Bigg Boss 18 finale will air on Colors TV and stream on JioCinema today on January 19 at 9:30 pm. The winner is likely to be announced post midnight.