Rohit Shetty on Khatron Ke Khiladi: "I was scared whether people would accept me or not as the host of such a big show"

Filmmaker Rohit Shetty says it is mentally and physically challenging to host the stunt-based reality show "Khataron Ke Khiladi", but he likes that the series keeps him on his toes. The 48-year-old director, who is returning to the hosting duties for the seventh time, said what separates the show from any other reality programme is its focus on exciting and dare-devil stunts, which is mostly performed by a host of celebrities.

"It is not a normal show, it takes six months of my life. When you do a show like this, you need to be on your toes. It is not like a show where you come, sit and give comments. This show is tiring, we work for hours and months in advance to design stunts. It is mentally and physically challenging," he told PTI. "Being a host of the show and given the fact that I also perform stunts on the show, I have to train myself. It is a tedious show for me. But the challenge is exciting," he added.

Shetty, known for blockbuster hits including Golmaal and Singham franchise, said he was initially worried whether people will accept him as a host or not as his only other TV outing was as a judge on "Comedy Circus'.

"I started in 2009 with 'Comedy Circus' then I moved to 'Khatron Ke Khiladi' which is a different kind of a show. When I did the first season, I was scared whether people would accept me or not as the host of such a big show. But people have accepted me and I am happy and more comfortable with now," he said.

The 11th season of the much popular show this time was filmed in Cape Town, South Africa, last month under strict COVID-19 safety protocols. Khatron Ke Khiladi will start airing on Colors TV channel from July 17.

"There was fear and everybody should have fear... You can't be brave, it is stupid to say that I am brave enough to go and do a season or shoot. When we went to Cape Town, we all had to follow the rules and precautions, the SOPs, etc. We strictly adhered to the guidelines and never stepped out of the hotel for 45 days and regularly did COVID-19 tests and sanitisation. We followed all of it and I am glad we pulled it off," Shetty said.

The show will have actors Shweta Tiwari, Arjun Bijlani, Abhinav Shukla, Divyanka Tripathi, Vishal Aditya Singh, Sourabh Raaj Jain, Mahek Chahal, Anushka Sen, Sana Makbul, Nikki Tamboli, Varun Sood and singers Rahul Vaidya and Aastha Gill as contestants this season.