In one of the episodes, a boy was seen stripping while dancing to a scintillating number at the Delhi discotheque Mirage and subsequently, he was thrown out by the management. For this `daring' act he won a award of Rs 2,000. Similarly, in another episode, an office executive, carrying a bucket of water, walked towards the inner circle of Connaught Place, took off his shirt, pant and tie and took a bath in the centre of the plaza. The executive said he enjoyed the public bath and claimed it was a once in a life-time experience (but what about those who had to watch him washing himself?).

On another occasion, two boys stripped at the main Janpath crossroads in Delhi and performed improvised synchronised dance movements to a musical number. Why did they `dare' do this? Because, they thought they had great bodies and there was no harm in showing them off, they replied. That's not all: in one sequence, a boy was shown piercing his eyebrows, lips, belly button and nipples, while a policeman looked on with growing fascination. What on earth is going on here?

[V] Dares You claims to make people do ``things that they have never done before'' and ``leave viewers talking about it''. Well, we're certainly talking about it, but remember, talk is cheap. What exactly is the idea behind the show: is it to shock you, is it pure exhibitionism, or is it really entertainment?

Rohit Vaid, supervising producer and head of Channel [V] in Delhi, claims that though the show is little on the edge, it is not supposed to hurt the sentiments of the people. ``This kind of stuff actually happens in our society, it's the harbinger of total corruption of our society and we are just trying to be real,'' he asserts, adding that ``our sole idea is to entertain the youth as the channel targets them.''

Challenging Vaid's defense of the show, Sapna Khurana, who is an ardent Channel [V] viewer, asks how many times has he (Vaid) seen executives taking a bath at a public place or someone stripping in a discotheque?. ``This kind of thing is not acceptable and does not gel with Indian morality, culture or sensibility,'' she adds, somewhat sanctimoniously. Similarly, another viewer, Chetna, feels that ``they are taking matters too far. You can't forget that you are living in India.''

Well, forget about Indians: hee's what one foreign lady present at Mirage while the stripping sequence took place, had to say: ``These things are OK in the West. I have seen something like this for the first time in India which is very shocking and disgusting.'' Shocking yes, but disgusting?

And what do the police have to say? Referring to Section 292 and 294, S.K. Jain, Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime), says: ``Our hands are tied. We can take action only after someone complains that his/her sentiments are being hurt. Moreover, what is obscenity? It's upto the society to decide. What we may feel is obscene, today's generation find quite normal.''

There have been positive reactions to the show: ``Man, that's cool'', said a college kid, who really enjoyed the stunts. ``They have good bodies, they were looking really dashing and we find it very cute'', felt a girl after seeing the two boys striptease at Janpath.

Vaid denies that the show is along the lines of AXN's Who Dares Wins, ``When the channel was planning the revamp, we thought of inculcating the real element and dare people to do things. And ChanneZl [V] Dares You was born.''

Asked if the show is likely to influence the youth, Vaid replies: ``Nowadays, the youth is too mature to be affected so easily.'' Wonder what the older generation thinks about that -- and the show.

AXN's Who dares Wins is quite famous (or notorious in the West). It remains to be seen whether Channel [V] deserves to be hailed for its `innovative' ideas or lambasted for its poor taste.