Shabbir Ahluwalia is ‘Khatron Ke Khiladi’

NEW DELHI - Popular TV actor Shabbir Ahluwalia has emerged the winner of the third season of “Fear Factor-Khatron Ke Khiladi” after weeks of gruelling tasks involving underwater stunts, fighting off creepy crawlies and jumping off dangerous heights.

Shabbir succeeded squash player Ritwik Bhattacharya, after facing two risky stunts on the grand finale, aired on Colors Thursday. Model-actors Milind Soman and Dino Morea were the other two finalists, but lost after the first stunt.

Shabbir who earned fame with TV shows like “Kahiin Toh Hoga” and “Kayamath”, walked away with a cash prize of Rs.50 lakh (Rs.5 million) and a Scorpio car.

The finale involved a stunt where one partner was required to walk atop a train in motion at 55 kmph, and co-ordinating with his partner who was under the train. The second stunt required them to drive a car from under a truck - and whichever team did so the maximum times, won the show.

Before being announced as the winner on the show, Shabbir, 31, said the show has made him realise that fear is just a state of mind.

“When I came on board, I thought that during the course of it I’ll find out what I’m scared of because I always thought that I’m only scared of god. But instead of that, I got to know that fear is nothing.

“It’s just how you condition your mind. When you know that you have to do a particular stunt and you have to do it well, your entire focus is on that fact and then you forget where you are, what height, what conditions,” said Shabbir.

The show, hosted by Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra and shot in Brazil, started with 13 male celebrities. Names like Rahul Bose, Rahul Dev, Abhishek Kapoor, Angad Bedi, Manjot Singh, Cyrus Broacha, Karan Singh Grover, Armaan Ebrahim, Terence Lewis, were a part of this season.

“Khatron Ke Khiladi” is the Indian version of “Fear Factor”, where contestants undergo daredevil stunts to get over their fears and win the show.