AND NOW,A STUDGURU

A ‘stud guru’ on sets,he adds how the boys look up to him as an ‘older brother’. “They’ve been housed in a palatial stud farm,and I give them gyan on a weekly basis,which they have to put to practical use to win the challenges following it,” said Patel.

The challenges have been designed to test the ability to charm and impress the opposite sex,and failure,of course,would result in elimination. Interestingly,there’s a Chandigarh ‘stud’ on the farm too. From converting phone contacts to real time dates,learning how to groove to salsa and prove the same at a nightclub to make the first move,the boys have to do it all. The success lies in decoding the trade secret,and according to Patel,it’s decoding the X factor. “You don’t have to be a Salman Khan or John Abraham,and you don’t have to try too hard either. Women are human lie detectors,who can sense nonsense from a distance. So,the only thing that works is honesty,” he tips. Now that we are on tips,Patel says he was a hit with the girls on Bigg Boss because he was genuine,protective and he stood up for them. “And so,they felt comfortable around me,” he says.

The weekly lessons from Patel are a compilation of his life experiences and research done by the channel. For instance,research says never approach a woman face to face. “Slide by the side. This way,you avoid the uncomfortable look. The body language has to be casual,” says Patel. His experience suggests that if women go the extra mile to look,feel,smell good,so should men. “We owe it to the opposite sex,and so there will be tips on styling and grooming too,” he says. Men,feels Patel,are under more pressure,for they are expected to make the first move. “It’s difficult,and no one likes a rejection. Our point is,take it with a pinch of salt and move on,” said Patel

It’s a school of flirt,and Patel’s biggest contention is that flirting in India is often confused with misbehaviour. “Which is not the case. It is about attraction and little harmless play,” says Patel. On the film front,Patel’s looking forward to two releases this year — The Flag that releases in August and Florida Road in September. The later has been directed by American director Brad Glass.