In a shocking revelation, Sahara One has allegedly dumped a few Indian stand-up artists so as to accommodate two actors for their show Comedy Champions. According to a reliable source, amongst those who missed out was Aarti Khandpal of Laughter Challenge fame. We called up Aarti to know the truth but she refused to comment on it but did helplessly say, “We artists fear talking on such issues as it could jeopardize our future prospects.” According to a source Aarti was called for the auditions and she even attended the rehearsal for a few days. However, she wasn’t given a single penny for it. Thereafter, she did not receive any communication from the channel. Sadly, a few actors who have no experience in comedy were chosen over stand-up artists.” Comedian Rajiv Nigam, who is also the show’s creative director, didn’t mince words. “Aarti is among the many artistes who missed out due to the limited requirement. The channel only needed 10-12 artists. However, after having called Pakistani artists, including actress Kanwal Nazar, the channel couldn’t have sent them back. After all, they had spent money on their travel and accommodation.” Opening a can of worms, Rajiv added, “It pains me no end to see talented artists missing out so as to accommodate actors. Worse any Tom, Dick and Harry were called for auditions. I was stunned when a plumber and an electrician from Pakistan came to me and asked me the reason why they were called.” We contacted Sahara One’s Programming Head Kalayan Sundaram but he dismissed such stories. “There was no injustice done to anyone. On the contrary, we fell short of artistes.”