Back in action: Shekhar Suman, Perizaad Kolah and Navjot Singh Sidhu
Navjot Singh Sidhu and Shekhar Suman are back together on Laughter Champions. The grapevine had it that the duo had parted ways owing to constant spats between themselves. (However, the duo is rubbishing all such rumours.) Although the first season of The Great Indian Laughter Challenge had both of them together, the second season saw them separately, in alternate episodes.
When contacted, Shekhar Suman said, "Sidhu and I never fought, so there is no question of us coming together again. Since there was some budget constraint; the production house couldn't afford both of us together in one episode."
So did he ask for a higher fee in the second season? "No. I don't know about Sidhu, but I never had a problem with my pay packet. It was entirely the channel's decision to cast us separately, in alternate episodes. Both the show, Laughter Challenge and Laughter Champions are different in format. The former required both of us together, the latter didn't. Sidhu is a great colleague to work with. When we were together, the show was a great success. And, we are back to rock the show again," he added.
Navjot Singh Sidhu, said, "It was certainly the channel's decision. It is up to them to decide whether we should be together or not. It also depended on the format of the show. They had financial constraint, so we were not coming together. If the show requires, we will again go separately."
But what about the buzz that they were not getting along together? "It's not true. I respect Shekharji as my elder brother and our wavelength matches perfectly. And I must say that the credit must go to both of us for making the show a hit," Sidhu added.
When contacted Rajesh Kamat, MD of Endemol India, the producer of the show admitted that Shekhar and Sidhu had differences in opinion in the show. "Both of them often had serious arguments over the final judgement. But, it was not as serious as some reports have portrayed. The best part is that they are back, and are friends again. As for the budget constraint, I would like say that there was never a problem. It was the show's format, where we could do with one judge at a time. Besides, the celebrity judge was always there," Rajesh said.
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