Roadies' contestant Suraj (Nagesh) fabricated facts of his personal life to get selected in "Roadies 8". But Raghu Ram denies that the judges were carried away by his fake sob story. And "Roadies 5" winner Ashutosh Kaushik gets flak from the channel and Viacom for mentoring Suraj.
when Suraj discussed a fake sob story with judges Raghu Ram, Rajiv Lakshman and Rannvijay, little did he know that it would become his shortcut to fame. And that he wouldn't be caught lying by the judges. Suraj, who auditioned from Pune for the current season of "Roadies" gave an interesting but obviously a fake story to ensure the decision was taken in his favour. In reality, Suraj is not a village boy, who washed dishes to eke out a livelihood. But he has been a student of the Indian Institute of Bartending and his profile is available on the institute's website.
A copy of this has also been uploaded on Roadies' official website. Suraj, who claimed that he had slept on pavements, had told the judges, "Pichle saal humare maa ka dehant hua. Aur humare pitaji iske liye zimmedar the. Aur hum jhagda karke ghar chodke bhaag gaye. Humne kabhie socha nahin tha ki hum humari maa ke bina rah paenge. Bhabhiji pregnant thi aur unke saamne pitaji bhai ko maar rahe the. Tab humara gussa bahar ayaa, aur hum ghar chod diye."
How true is the version, we asked Suraj, who is planning to hold a press conference soon. "I did this in jest. My parents haven't had any problem with this. I lied to take revenge on behalf of those who are insulted by the judges in the show," he admits, adding, "But the replies the channel has displayed on their site with my profile are not correct. And I'm being accused of being fake. I never auditioned for "Roadies" for fame. I have been trying to speak to people from the channel, but for some reason it hasn't happened. I'm just waiting for them to call me. Raghu was in Mumbai a few days back and I sent him a message if it was possible to speak to him. But he asked me to get in touch with the crew. This hasn't happened either," he said.
Ashutosh, who shared a few tips with Suraj to help him impress the judges, is shocked for being held culpable for what Suraj has done. "Suraj had asked me to tell him what his approach should be like to get selected. And I told him, 'Teri kahani thodi hatke bana'. But I never thought that he would give incorrect facts. I don't know why I'm being told by Viacom and the channel that I have invited trouble for myself. Maine unse koi panga nahin liya hai. I didn't come to Mumbai to do all this. I'm shocked that the judges couldn't identify the real Suraj. Since they failed to do this, they are blaming me. Kyun kisi bhi contestant ka background check nahi hota? It is the job of the judges to double check what the contestants say. They get paid for this. Judges soch rahein hain ki Ashu ke tips dene se ek contestant select hua aur unhein bewkoof bana gaya."
But why can't the team do a background check to avert such instances? "It takes months to complete auditions in six cities. What do you suggest, i should go to each contestant's house and get a police verification done? i can't do that," replied Raghu, adding, "Suraj didn't get selected for his sob story but because he looked interesting and had an interesting way to talk. A lot of people have done this earlier. After his audition was telecast, people put up on the net that he is a fraud. by the time this happened, we had shot most of the episodes. We had our doubts but it didn't bother us to get a background check for any contestant. If contestants present themselves well, we are fine."
Even though the popular notion states that Suraj was brought by the channel, Raghu denies it. "This is not right. Rahul, another contestant told us that he was playing a character of a village boy. So Suraj is not the only one. Suraj was called for the shoot of "Graveyard" a part of the "Roadies", but he refused to attend. I think he felt that I'd harm him. Later he wanted to meet me. Frankly, I don't have the time and till the show is complete, I can't talk to any contestant." So is Suraj trying to harm the show's credibility? "Yes. And the funniest part is that it is coming from him. For, he was the one who lied and still got selected. And this proves the show is not rigged. Suraj is saying that he'll call a press conference, which is against the contract they have signed," Raghu replied.
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