Small screen, big trouble

Now that Armaan Kohli is accused of assault on television, we look back at some instances on television which had celebrities in a soup

Rakhi Sawant on Rakhi ka Insaaf

This show got the motormouth Rakhi Sawant to play judge and she got carried away with the power enough to call one of the participants 'namard' (impotent) on national television.


The accused Lakshman Prasad Ahirwar was a 24-year-old who lived in Jhansi. He had gone to the show seeking justice for marital problems with his wife. This jibe by Sawant was too humilating for Ahirwar and he apparently got into depression and stopped eating and drinking. His death came as a shock to everyone.

Pooja Bedi on the Amul India Show
A huge controversy was sparked off when Pooja Bedi interviewed Amitabh Bachchan for a popular show. But the episode was never telecast.

Pooja accused Big B of bullying the channel into axing the episode as she had asked him some uncomfortable questions like if he dyed his hair. She also wrote a personal letter to the calling him a Big Baby and a Big Bully. The legendary actor maintained that it was the channels decision to axe the episode and he had no hand in it.Nikki Bedi on Nikki Tonight
In 1995, Kabir Bedi's then wife, Nikki's talk show Nikki Tonight was fast gaining popularity till the controversy erupted, when Ashok Row Kavi related a story about how he had a letter published in which he abused Mahatma Gandhi.

Hostess Nikki sniggered and giggled at the remark. Their 'fun moment' was spoilt forever when the public outcry resulted in the show being taken off air and a public apology issued by the channel. Nikki is said to have left the country soon after.

Crimes inspired by CID
A real life kidnap and murder of a 16-year-old boy was reportedly inspired by a crime fiction show. The victim was kidnapped by his classmates who demanded a ransom of R50,000. He was later taken to a nearby hill where he was strangled to death. When the boys were arrested, they confessed that they were inspired by the show CID.

Also...
A nine-year-old boy, Dinesh Prabhakar Chaudhary, attempted to immolate himself in the hope that `Shaktimaan' (the hero in the popular TV serial of the same name) would come to rescue him.

Earlier, a school student had fractured his limbs by jumping from the dome of a Hanuman temple in Manmad, in an attempt to emulate Shaktimaan.