Navjot Sidhu made to apologise to Shekh

Shekhar Suman

The laughter from Star One's Great Indian Laughter Challenge went missing on Wednesday at an outdoor shoot in Karjat, when there was a huge ego problem between judges Shekhar Suman and Navjot Singh Sidhu. The reason was a joke Sidhu cracked which the latter thought was in bad taste.

Chhakka allusion

A source on the sets revealed what happened that evening. "One of the contestants made a statement that Sidhu was a great batsman and always hit sixers ('chhakke mare hain'). In response to that line, Sidhu said something, which implied that there were some chakkas sitting among them (he looked at Shekhar while saying that).

This statement went down really badly with Shekhar, and he told the director he could not carry on with the show if that line was retained. The shooting was brought to a halt for over two hours, and they resumed only after Sidhu apologised for what he had said."

No personal digs, please

Confirming the incident, Shekhar said, "Yes I did have a difference of opinion with Sidhu on the sets. I believe both of us are on the show as judges and not contestants, so there is no need to outwit each other. The fact that we are already stars and have established our credibility is the reason we are called in to judge."

When asked if Sidhu's comments irked him, Suman said, "I don't think anyone needs to make personal comments or take digs at anyone. Both of us have to achieve a balance where we come across as professionals, not amateurs."

Goes overboard

When asked if this has happened before, Shekhar added, "Sidhu has no entertainment background. He's new to this game, so he needs to realise the ramifications of what he says in public and tread carefully. We also have outside guests and a live audience on the show, so we cannot embarrass ourselves."

Not first time

It is learnt that this isn't the first time Sidhu has said something that didn't go down well with the audience. "He does go overboard at times. I think he gets carried away and says something he may not have intended. Also, the fact that Shekhar Suman is already an established and seasoned artiste may have something to do with it," said a source on Laughter Challenge.

So how does Shekhar handle such situations? "I think Sidhu and I are grown people and can sit down and talk things out. We did it that day, there was an amicable solution and we continued with the shoot."
Sidhu was in Pakistan and not available for comment.

hey....even I think sidhu goes over board at times....

sidhu is an a**hole.........who the f*ck needs his smart a*s comments and those annoying shero shayiri he makes........he tries to show off his english vocabulary while commentating in live cricket, and we all know how badly he fails..............i always turn off the sound when he starts on those irritating shero shayiri on GILC