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All for a hearty laugh

Photo: Murali Kumar K.

JUST FOR GAGS Cyrus Sahukar

He shares his name with the funny man of Indian television and has managed to live up to the name in a career spanning more than 15 years.

Cyrus Sahukar’s portrayal of Simi Garewal in the spoof talk show made him a popular comic figure across the country. He is currently hosting MTV “Kickass Mornings” that showcase a range of mocumentaries. He explains: “They are documentary-type features on the vagaries of daily life in India.

Cyrus feels that India is a country with many funny characters and incidents.

“We are a funny country that takes itself too seriously. With stand up acts and the advent of comedy shows on TV and the internet, the trend is changing, but it will take time before a complete change is noticed.”

He adds: “People are more sporting about gags and jokes played on them. I feel that we lack an iconic comic character, like Mr. Bean. We have many brilliant comedians, but I feel that the lack of a character hinders the growth of comedy to some extent. We need to move beyond the regular stand-up comedy and gigs, if you want the audience to remain interested.”

The peppy host says: “We plan to start a series soon that is closely modelled on the popular ‘Office’ series, which is a combination of realism and television series. It will be very different from regular shows and something that has never been attempted in India before. It will be a change from the regular programming one encounters on telly.”

As with many other comedians, Cyrus says that many of the dialogues of the characters are not scripted. “I am given some lines, but many of the dialogues are spontaneous. I draw inspiration from the people I meet every day, with their own quirks and weird mannerisms. These characters are very regular and the audience will be able to identify with them.”

“Kickass Mornings” is telecast on MTV every day from 7 a.m. to noon.

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