Mumbai: A health-and-age argument inside the Bigg Boss 20 house has spilled outside it, after the wife of contestant Asif Khan said he had suffered a massive heart attack at 34 and that the family had received death and rape threats.
Zeba, Asif Khan's wife, told entertainment reporters that he had a heart attack at 34 and that the family has faced threats in the wake of the on-screen dispute. Her account was carried by entertainment outlets tracking the show.
The row began over remarks about age and health made during a clash involving Asif Khan and fellow contestant Qazi Touqeer. Fellow housemates Saqib Saleem and Snehil Dixit Mehra extended support to Asif Khan after the clash, according to reports from the show.
The season has had age at its centre for days. Contestants have traded barbs over who is older, and followers have weighed in, making the house's demographic mix a running theme of the season.
Bigg Boss, a long-running reality show in which contestants live together under camera surveillance and face weekly evictions, is known for turning small domestic frictions into public arguments. This season's arguments over age have repeatedly drawn comment online.
The programme's makers have not commented on the threats claim. The show airs on a leading network, and episodes are widely clipped and shared on social media, which amplifies such disputes quickly.
The dispute now sits at an unusual intersection of entertainment and a family's safety. What began as a remark inside the house has become a matter discussed outside it, with a contestant's health and a threat complaint now part of the public record.