With a promising trailer, Khatron Ke Khiladi is back with Rohit Shetty to test the limits of contestants. Mansi Bhansali meets Geeta Phogat, Ravi Dubey and Manveer Gujjar
The Senoras and Senors head to Spain, to take up new challenges and cope with everyday fears this time around, for Khatron Ke Khiladi.8. The show, which promises to turn the life of the constestants around by 180 degrees, would be hosted by director Rohit Shetty and would go on air from today.
One of the participants who will take part in the death-defying manoeuvres and nail biting acts is wrestler Geeta Phogat. After making India proud by winning Gold at the Commonwealth games 2010, she is up for a challenge to test her mental strength in the show. She said, “The experience was thrilling as for the first time I’ve done something apart from wrestling. All the co-contestants were very supportive.”
Phogat who also works in the Haryana police, has burst into popular imagination with the movie Dangal. She says, “One of the reasons to join the show was to explore other sports. Of course, I asked my family, my father, they said it's up to me if I wanted to do the show. Sisters said that you must not say no to any stunt no matter what."
Phogat has also witnessed a change in wrestling in India. She said, “There was a time when wrestling was dominated by men but nowadays girls are coming up and competing one-on-one with the male wrestlers. But it is very important to see where they are training and under which coach. The government should provide proper gyms and wrestling mat especially to the rural areas. We have received a new mat only this new year otherwise we use to wrestle on the old college mats.” For those interested in her wrestling moves, Phogat is participating in an upcoming championship “I will be coming back with National Championship in November. I want to win Gold and go ahead with Olympics,” she says.
As for what happened during the show, this is all she is willing to say, “I didn't fear the stunts, but there were certain things that happened due to which I felt scared, I cried.”
The male lead of the popular television show Jamai Raja, Ravi Dubey is also one of the contestants in this season of Khatron Ke Khiladi. He considers his journey through the show as a roller roaster ride. He said, “People are very warm and caring in Spain. Though, because of the language barrier, we were struggling to understand each other but we did manage to do so. This is because of the unspoken bond which we had established. The show has given me a self-respect, self-belief and lead to a spiralling drop in negativtiy.”
Speaking about his wife, Sargun Mehta who recently won Filmfare for her Punjabi blockbuster movie love Punjab, he said, “I’m very proud as a husband. Both of us are one unit. I feel I’ve won the filmfare.” Dubey thinks it is important to have a legitimate ending of everything. He said, “Jamai Raja had a very honourable run of 700 episodes and it’s been a game changer for me.”
Dubey, who started his career in his third year of college, finds Shetty to be an excellent master. He told Shetty was someone who really cares about the contestants. He used to make sure that in a stunt safety was paramount.
After winning Big Boss 10, Manveer Gurjar stars in season 8 of Khatron Ke Khiladi. He said, “Being a sports person, I immediately accepted the offer without a second thought. It was a thrilling journey. We were provided with a translator to explain the stunt and the precautionary measures which made it easy to perform the task.”
He also narrated his journey in the Big Boss house and how his life got transformed after winning it. Before entering the house he also felt that the show was scripted but after living inside it, he believes that there is nothing scripted. He said, “The production tries to ensure that it grabs eyeballs, whether it is through tasks or nomination strategy.”