"Priyanka is a whip-wielding dictator"

Priyanka Chopra is hardly a friendly host in Rio de Janeiro where the stunts for Colors' adventure reality show 'Fear Factor - Khatron Ke Khiladi' are being shot.

According to news filtering out of the beaches of Copacabana where the first batch of stunts were shot with 13 contestats, hostess Priyanka was not kidding when she said she would make the contestants hate her with her instructions.

According to at least two contestants, who spoke from the location, Priyanka has transformed into quite a whip-wielding dictator in Brazil. She makes the contestants work relentlessly and hardly provides them with a moment of breather to replenish their energy.

One of the exhausted contestants said, "She doesn't carry a whip, but a whistle which is as good as whip. The whistle is with her throughout from 7.30 in the morning till late evening when we pack up. And she uses the whistle to intimidate us like no other woman in our lives has ever intimidated us."

In fact, the contestants are so fed up of the whistle that they plan to steal it and throw it into the ocean. But Priyanka is relentless about sticking to the regime.

"Priyanka is determined to prove she can orchestrate the contestants' stunts as effectively as Akshay Kumar in the first two seasons of 'Fear Factor'," said a source from Rio.

"She is up at dawn and ready to play hard ball with the contestants by 7.30 every morning. The stunts start by 8.30 am, but not before a very close and careful briefing by the stunt director to make sure no one breaks any bones on location."

Throughout these stunts Priyanka is detached, dispassionate and ruthlessly professional. She does not mingle with any of the contestants, not even Dino Morea whom she knows well.

"The only time she loosens up is towards the evening when she seems more relaxed. Otherwise she is so professional, it's scary," said the source.

Priyanka says she's doing her job exactly the way she is supposed to. "We are not here for a picnic. It's a tough regimen," she said.