Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan launched the third season of the reality TV show "Bigg Boss" here Sunday night and welcomed 13 participants - including item girl Rakhi Sawant's mother Jaya.

Jaya, who used to work as nurse to bring up her kids, was quite an unexpected participant on the show considering her strained ties with daughter Rakhi, who was a part of the show in the first season in 2006.

While Rakhi didn't care to invite her mother to the finale of her recent "Swayamvar" show, the latter was upset that she (Rakhi) was taking the decision about her life partner without her family's consent.

"I thank the general public for understanding me. I am confident that I will be able to handle everyone on the show, " Jaya told Bachchan before entering the "Bigg Boss" house.

She recalled how Amitabh had given her a Rs.200, 000 cheque for her mother's well-being in the 1990s. She said: "For the world you may be a superstar, but for me you are god. You had helped my mother when she was ill and she gave you a lot of blessings."

Dressed in a flashy, red, green and gold sari, she seemed ready to give her famous daughter a run for her money with her melodrama.

The third season of "Bigg Boss" is quite high on glamour with celebrities like Poonam Dhillon, Shamita Shetty, Aditi Govitrikar, Sherlyn Chopra, Tanaaz Currim Irani and Claudia Ciesla featuring in it.

However, with other contestants like music composer Ismail Darbar, actor-director Kamaal R. Khan, actors Vindu Dara Singh, Bakhtiyaar Irani, fashion desinger Rohit Varma and stand-up comedian Raju Srivastava, the list of men on the show failed to impress.

The first episode of the show saw Bachchan ushering in the 13 celebrities into the specially designed house in this hill station.

While all the participants will be closeted in the house for three months under 24-hour surveillance with no access to telephones or television, Bachchan will host the show on the Colors channel.

The show will air in a prime-time slot Monday-Friday but Big B will appear only in the elimination episodes every Saturday and Sunday, communicating with the contestants through a TV screen. Each week, one contestant will be voted out.

The winner will walk away with the grand prize of Rs.1 crore.