Sunil Pal has been replaced by Karan Oberoi in Zee's musical show Antakshari. Sunil, the stand-up comedian has so far provided his brand of humor to the show for its first season and now it is the turn of singer-cum-actor Karan to return to television after a sabbatical (post-Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahi).
When contacted, Karan seemed more than thrilled to be a part of the show.
"When I got a call for this show two weeks back, I thought it was a wonderful platform to showcase my singing and hosting abilities. Besides, it does not require as much time as a daily television show. The channel people have seen me perform in stage shows and wanted exactly the same kind of energy for the show. The first episode will be a kids' special and since I am extremely fond of kids, be assured that it's going to be a bonus," says Karan Oberoi, who is busy working for stage shows and his production house, aside from Antakshari.
Adds Karan, "People have been telling me that they want me back on television. I am looking forward to hosting the show as it is an already well-established and well-watched one. Thus, the reach is surely going to be huge. Also, my co host Himani is a very sweet and talented girl and it will be fun to work with her."
We quizzed Sunil Pal about his sudden decision to opt out of the show.
"I had an agreement with Zee which required me to host the first season. For the second season, they wanted some changes in the show that required a lot of time from my end. There was to be a new team and this would have required a lot of rehearsal and riyaz.
The show did not interest me any further. Besides, I lost out on a lot of plum projects outside. I do not want my other shows to get neglected. So I decided to not be a part of this anymore," says ex-host Sunil Pal.
Sunil had walked out of the show a few weeks back and had refused to shoot for two episodes. When questioned on this, he says, "Yes, I had arguments with the unit members. On that particular episode, Prachi Desai and Divyanka Tripathi had already come while Rajshree Thakur couldn't make it on time. I tried to convince everyone to start the shooting instead of waiting for everyone but they refused to listen to me. I naturally got pissed of with them and refused to shoot for a few episodes. I have had a few arguments with Himani on a couple of occasions but it has been mostly been about getting the songs right."
Commenting on the new host Ashish Kaul, Senior Vice President, Zee Network, says "Karan was good in the auditions and his personality and charisma is attractive enough for him to be the new host of the show. We thought Sunil Pal should be out of the show as we got a lukewarm response from the viewers. Besides, he had other commitments and this was coming in the way of the show."
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