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A free laugh
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India is a funny country that takes itself too seriously
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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 in the spoof on Simi Gerewal’s 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.”
He elaborates: “I play a host of different characters every week. The characters change so frequently, that sometimes I forget who I really am. The show has created an identity crisis for me.”
“Our aim is to ensure that people watch the show and enjoy their mornings, instead of worrying about work and the daily grind. The characters are also created from people we encounter in our everyday life. It is a new concept in India and I hope it will be successful.” 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 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 everyday, with their own quirks and weird mannerisms. These characters are very regular and the audience will be able to identify with them.”
His entry into the world of VJing happened quite by chance, says Cyrus. “I was selected from among thousands of aspirants in the VJ hunt. It was scary initially, as I had to establish my credentials as an entertainer and also had to live up to my namesake, who had been an established comedian and was nearly 10 years my senior. Soon, I started enjoying the job and had a ball in the production of spoof shows like ‘Fully Faltoo’, ‘Semi Girebaal’ and ‘Bechare Zameen Par’. He adds: “The profession has undergone many changes. It is evolving a great deal.”
“Kickass Mornings” is telecast on MTV every morning from 7 a.m. to 12 p.m.
NIKHIL VARMA
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Mangalore
Pondicherry
Tiruchirapalli
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
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