Truth or dare

Rajeev Khandelwal says that he won't cringe. Not even when he is throwing the most intimate and potentially damaging questions at participants of the new game show Sach Ka Saamna. "I've been brought up to believe that truth sets you free. Why then should it cause harm?" asks Khandelwal. Poised at a crucial juncture of his film career, Khandelwal was reluctant to take up the offer of hosting the Hindi version of the popular American game show, Moment of Truth. "But I saw a few episodes of the original show and realized that it had great possibilities. He tells us why he took the TV plunge again.

* Why did you decide to come back to television again? You do have some very interesting films in your kitty?
I actually didn't want to return to television. But the show fascinated me and I'm always open to new things so I couldn't resist it. I will never return to the Saas-bahu serials though. It will be quite pointless to do so

* Do you think India is ready for such a show? Some of the questions in the American version are quite risqu?
I think there is too much hypocrisy around. We should have the guts and take responsibilities for our action. The show endorses that philosophy. It also offers contestants the opportunity to bare their soul and come out with things that have been bothering them.

* Tell us about your film career. Your debut film Aamir received a lot of critical acclaim…
It also happened to be a commercial success too. People tend to dismiss it as a small film but I was very happy with the fact that the producers got more than their investment back.

... contd.