Tusshar Shah is a stand up comedian and a doctor by profession. He is known to bring in clean comedy; he has been a part of the 'Laughter Challenge' and is currently in Star One’s laughter champion. The funny man shares his thoughts…
Q: Your take on comedy...
My influence in comedy goes by my taste in comedy which is based on the usage of language, observational comedy and mimicry. As far as the comedy scene in India is concerned, I would say that it is yet to see its best. Good movies and great entertainment is from the West. We lag behind in having good writers and comedy is based more on what is written than what is performed. A good performance can be effective but may not appeal because of poor scripts. And I am sure we have good writers but they do not venture into this as the returns are not satisfactory.
Q: You are a doctor by profession. What joke do you crack to make your patients laugh when you draw out the injection needle?
Nothing at all! My patients complain that I am very serious in the clinic. In fact, many are surprised by the fact that a stand-up comedian can be very serious. I am in a way a split personality and am completely different on stage and while in clinic. It is not deliberate but comes to me naturally. Such behaviours hardly overlap but comedy has taught me to be calmer.
Q: Tell us about some really funny incidents that were not part of the script on the sets of 'Laughter Challenge'.
All of us have had a good time while shooting; there has been good interaction with artists while practising. There was this incident when Rauf Lala used to take frequent breaks to drink water when practising. But it was only later we came to know that those breaks were taken to memorise his lines. In fact some even used to write the dialogues on hands and just read it out.
Q: How exactly can one stop Navjyot Singh Sidhu from laughing?
(Laughs) It is tough. He does that to encourage the participants. One gets really nervous if the audience is not responsive, it is like letting you down. And Sidhu does all the laughing on behalf of the audience. Trust me, it really favours the artist and is a big advantage. Even in shows and dramas there is something called ‘canned laughter’ just to imply that there is something funny. Sidhu does know what is really funny and what is not but since the audience does not respond due to fatigue or other reasons, he does their job by going out of his way. This in turn really motivates the artist. But one thing is sure that Sidhu is not a moron but very intelligent.
My influence in comedy goes by my taste in comedy which is based on the usage of language, observational comedy and mimicry. As far as the comedy scene in India is concerned, I would say that it is yet to see its best. Good movies and great entertainment is from the West. We lag behind in having good writers and comedy is based more on what is written than what is performed. A good performance can be effective but may not appeal because of poor scripts. And I am sure we have good writers but they do not venture into this as the returns are not satisfactory.
Q: You are a doctor by profession. What joke do you crack to make your patients laugh when you draw out the injection needle?
Nothing at all! My patients complain that I am very serious in the clinic. In fact, many are surprised by the fact that a stand-up comedian can be very serious. I am in a way a split personality and am completely different on stage and while in clinic. It is not deliberate but comes to me naturally. Such behaviours hardly overlap but comedy has taught me to be calmer.
Q: Tell us about some really funny incidents that were not part of the script on the sets of 'Laughter Challenge'.
All of us have had a good time while shooting; there has been good interaction with artists while practising. There was this incident when Rauf Lala used to take frequent breaks to drink water when practising. But it was only later we came to know that those breaks were taken to memorise his lines. In fact some even used to write the dialogues on hands and just read it out.
Q: How exactly can one stop Navjyot Singh Sidhu from laughing?
(Laughs) It is tough. He does that to encourage the participants. One gets really nervous if the audience is not responsive, it is like letting you down. And Sidhu does all the laughing on behalf of the audience. Trust me, it really favours the artist and is a big advantage. Even in shows and dramas there is something called ‘canned laughter’ just to imply that there is something funny. Sidhu does know what is really funny and what is not but since the audience does not respond due to fatigue or other reasons, he does their job by going out of his way. This in turn really motivates the artist. But one thing is sure that Sidhu is not a moron but very intelligent.
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