Aarti Chhabria wins 'Fear Factor 4', gives credit to Akshay

Jul 24, 2011 IANS

New Delhi, July 24 (IANS) Actress Aarti Chhabria, who won the fourth season of Colors' show "Fear Factor - Khatron Ke Khiladi", says host Akshay Kumar was her biggest source of inspiration.

"Akshay has been a great source of inspiration. As I knew him even before the show, so I was quiet comfortable with him. He is a great host. He not only does his work well and to the best of his ability, but takes special interest in understanding his contestants strengths and weaknesses. He always encouraged us," Aarti, who has worked with Akshay in "Awara Paagal Deewana", told IANS on phone.

"There was a time when I was very afraid of doing one of the stunts and Akshay came to me and said, 'Ye ladki haar maanane vaalo mein se nahin hai' (This girl never gives up).

"After listening to such words from none other than Akshay Kumar, anybody would try to give her or his best. This is just one of the incidents, he gave such boosters all through the show to everybody. He is very witty and has a great sense of humour and also great sense of timing," she added.

Aarti and her partner Dhaval Thakur succeeded over singer Mauli Dave and Dhiraj, after facing risky stunts on the grand finale aired Saturday night. The show was shot in locales of South Africa.

The actress was eliminated, but she came back with a bang as a wild card and entry and ended up wining "Fear Factor - Khatron Ke Khiladi 4".

"The journey has been a complete rollercoaster ride. I have been using this word 'mindblowing' quiet often, but now after winning the title I understood the real meaning of it. The journey of 'Khatron Ke Khiladi' has been mindblowing," said Aarti.

"I have learnt so much. Now I feel much more confident. Initially, I had a lot of fears whether it is height, water, fire or creepy crawlies, but now I have overcome so many fears," she added.

The 28-year-old underwent intense training before starting shooting for the show.

"Before coming to the show I thought that for winning this kind of a show one needs to have muscle power so I underwent massive training. I did a lot of cycling and swimming. But after I was sent back home in the third week itself, I realised the show was all about having inner strength and belief," she said.

The actress, who is enjoying her win, promises to return to films.

"I have been enjoying my time and trying to overcome the small little injuries. But you will soon see me in films. I have few projects coming up. I might do all kind of different things like anchoring, dancing, but acting is my passion."

Aarti made her debut in Bollywood with "Tumse Achcha Kaun Hai" (2002) and later featured in films like "Awara Paagal Deewana" and "Shootout At Lokhandwala" amongst others.