Beyond the radar of Comedy Central and stand-up comedy in the plush restaurants of metros, there is an audience which roots for Krushna Abhishek, Sudesh Lahiri and Shakil Siddiqui. If Tanmay Bhatt has brought down Sachin Tendulkar and Lata Mangeshkar from their pedestal, these guys cut down Bollywood stars to size every week in Comedy Nights Bachao on Colors. “Some critics think the level of comedy has come down because of us. It is not about the language, it is about the intent. The amount of effort we put in to create humour is no less. English comedy still doesn’t work in India whereas Hindi content is doing really well. What we want from the society is cooperation and love.”
The fact that Hindi comedy is doing well reflects from the fact that both Sony and Colors have comedy shows during weekend primetime led by Kapil Sharma and Krushna respectively. “Kapil’s show bothers me,” says Krushna, who has replaced Kapil on Colors. Indicating towards a healthy rivalry, he adds, “I want his show to work but mine should also generate TRPs. If he is good, I want to be the best and my team is definitely better than his,” he avers with a twinkle in his eyes.
A failed film actor, Krushna has found a new lifeline through television. He is doing three shows simultaneously. “I have no time and have a very tight schedule. There is huge competition in comedy now and I am lucky that I have no time.”
He is now called for special appearances in films with big names like Akshay Kumar. “There is nothing like big or small screen anymore. Every big star is there on small screen and we make fun of the biggest of names in good spirit. Given a chance, I really want to do a film with my partner Sudeshji.”
Sudesh Lehri, Krushna’s on screen partner for a decade, says, “We are made for each other as we have almost same kind of personality. I had the desire of becoming a singer and he wanted to be a dancer but destiny has made us comedians. We have no complaints and we use our skills in singing and dancing to enhance our comedy.” Recollecting one of the happiest moments of his life, Sudesh says, “When I met Shah Rukh Khan on the sets of India’s Got Talent, he said he was my fan. The entire word is his fan and he is mine! He praised me for about 15 minutes.” It shows
Shakil Siddiqui, who seems like the only humorous connection between India and Pakistan right now, says, “Comedy was used as filler but it’s no longer the case. Now we drive the show. It’s really a difficult task to make people laugh, and for this I don’t need any script.”
Taking the discussion to an emotional plane, Shakeel says his parents shifted to Pakistan in 1952 from Patna due to family problems. “During that time it was easier to shift from India to Pakistan but now it’s almost impossible to find my distant relatives in India.” Underlining the futility of acrimony between neighbours, Shakil says both the countries are like brothers and they have to stay together. “Life is all about spreading love and the borders are not going to stop this. Lakeeren zameen par honi chahiye, dil par nahin.”
