Fear Factor Season 2 may have a completely different set of participants, but the host and his popularity remains unchanged. In fact, after speaking to the participants, one wonders whether they are in the show for the adventure quotient or as fans of Akki Baba! And our man of the moment is not complaining. Why should he? If it was just models last time, this time it is a wide range of femme fatales from wrestlers (Sonika Khaliraman) to singers (Anushka Manchanda) to actors (Rupali Ganguly) and models famous for wardrobe malfunctions (Carol Gracias). Not to forget the others including Shonali Nagrani, Sushma Reddy, Shweta Salve, Nauheed, Jesse Randhawa, Mandira Bedi, Rozza and Pia Trivedi. Akshay Kumar, apparently, has this habit of forgetting names of participants. “Thus he gave nicknames to all the participants to facilitate his memory. For example, I became Naani, Sonali Nagrani was Shastriji, Carol was Kaushalya , Mandira was Bedi Saab and Anushka became Ankush!” says Nauheed while remembering the days they spent with Mr. Khiladi in South Africa. Adds a smitten Pia Trivedi, “What amazed me was the fitness level of Akshay Kumar. This is the first time I am working so closely with him, he is just amazing. He used to personally perform every stunt before we did it. He is still so handsome…” If it was Akshay’s charm and fitness that enamoured Nauheed and Pia, it was his memory that made Rupali Ganguly an instant fan. “My father is a producer and when Akshay was a struggler he had acted in a movie produced by Dad. That is when we had interacted and I never thought he would remember me. But he did. I was really touched by his gesture,” says the actress. Sonika feels it was Akshay’s encouragement that made most of the girls do the stunts. “He used to specifically tell me about stunts and physical fitness. Every time I was unsure, he used to encourage me and even push me to take the challenge. His demonstrating it in front of us proved that he practiced what he preached. It was really an awesome experience working with him.”