Rajeev: That was totally unexpected. The task was for a boy to convince one of the girls in his group to be slapped by him. Now, the way the groups had been divided, we knew all the girls in that group hated the boy. So we thought it would be next to impossible for him to convince the girls to be slapped. Instead, the girls were falling over themselves to volunteer!

It was totally unexpected. And then we got pissed off because the boy really whacked the girl hard across her face. That's just not done. But yes, it did happen on the show and we take responsibility for it.

Raghu: It was a mistake. In the finale, there were two boys left, and we brought back the rest of the Roadies for the last bit. And the point was for each of the boys to convince his teammates to do tasks that would make him win. The tasks were difficult -- 'Kiss an iguana', 'Get your nipples pierced', 'Shave your head' etc. One task was to get slapped by the captain of the team. Our guess was that people would not come forward to do the task, because there was enough animosity between them.

But we were surprised when people started falling over themselves to do the tasks! Later, they told us that it was their last chance to prove themselves as a Roadie. Once the girl, Shambhavi, volunteered, we couldn't interfere. They completely misread the situation and we didn't anticipate it. I underestimated the power of the show on the psyche of the contestants.

But later we apologised to her, made Ashu (the boy who slapped her) grovel for days, and got her to slap both Ashutosh and Nihal (the two finalists last year) for good measure!

What do you look for in a Roadie?

Rajeev: We are looking at individuals, but also at group dynamics. We want interesting people who will react interestingly to the other contestants. They have to be reactive, because it's important for the viewers to know what they're thinking.
For instance, if a contestant is upset about something, and doesn't express it, it will affect the story and possibly vote outs, but the viewers won't know what happened. So it's important that they be reactive and expressive. That's why a lot of North Indians get selected -- because they are more moohfat than most others.

Raghu: It's changed from year to year. Reality television dictates some things. If you're honest about how you're making a show, you won't allow the contestants to even talk to you. You're dependant on the contestants for whatever content they give you. Since we have done our homework and cast people, we can't do anything beyond that, except shoot.

So they should be reactive, interesting to watch, strong personalities and different. Roadies has become a badge of approval -- people have forgotten that it's a show, not a personality test. But now I've given up explaining to them because they will think whatever they want to. It's become bigger than a show now -- which is great, I can't complain.

But I'm very clear about the fact that I'm casting for a show. People sometimes ask me, 'Why Devarshi? He doesn't have Roadie qualities.' Come on, man -- didn't you have great fun watching him? What are 'Roadie qualities'? Getting Michael Phelps to do a swimming task is no fun. But getting someone who has a fear of water to jump into a pool is television. That's Roadies.

Caption: The contestants have to undergo a lot of gruelling challenges on Roadies -- here, a female contestant looks like she's getting trounced in a wrestling ring.

Also see: Women are not fighters: Kiran Bedi