It was touted as a coup — getting the biggest names in international cricket, from MS Dhoni and Virender Sehwag to Brett Lee and Shane Warne, to perform death-defying stunts. In the end, however, the third season of the Colors reality show
Khatron Ke Khiladi, to be hosted by actress
Priyanka Chopra, has had to settle for a bunch of has-been actors, with a few exceptions.
Plans of having cricketers on board were shelved after the cricket control board restricted them from taking part for safety reasons. Their replacements, sources reveal, include comedy king Cyrus Broacha, actor Dino Morea, squash player and actor Neha Dhupia’s ex Ritwik Bhattacharya,
Rock On!! director Abhishek Kapoor and actors Rahul Bose, Milind Soman and Rahul Dev.
Dev confesses that it’s not easy replacing cricketers. “We can’t match their popularity, but we’ll be more entertaining,” he says. “I’ll sacrifice my place for a cricketer if one of them can join,” jokes Cyrus. “Whoever wants to watch, will watch irrespective of who’s participating,” retorts Milind.
Ashvini Yardi of the channel is positive: “It’s the first time that we have male celebs participating in the show.” His optimism, though, is not shared by many. “Cyrus on such a show? If I wanted to watch comedy, I’d just watch another channel,” says Shimit Mehta, 24. “I haven’t even heard of half of the contestants. Where are the cricketers?” rues Nikhil Jain, 19, a self-professed adrenaline junkie.
Priyanka leaves for Brazil in September to shoot for the show.