Standing up for laughter

Comedians from Punjab have made it big on small-screen laughter shows
and how, write Randeep Wadehra & Amar Nath Wadehra

Laugh, and the world laughs with you;
Weep, and you weep alone,
For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth,
But has trouble enough of its own.

— Solitude by the late US poet Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850–1919).

FOR generating laughter, nothing beats a good comedy. The tradition of comedy in theatre goes back to several millennia. In India, Hasya Rasa, an integral part of the hoary Natyashastra, is of two kinds, Atmastha or focussed on the self, Parastha or focussed on others. In the Greek and Roman traditions, comedies by Aristophanes are the oldest existing ones, dating back to circa 4^th-century BC. However, stand-up comedy is of more recent origins. In the United Kingdom, it began in the music halls during the 18^th and 19^th centuries. In the United States, vaudeville spawned a more robust and popular form of stand-up comedy that, eventually, led to shows featuring stand-up comics alone – a trend that gathered strength with the introduction of television.

In India, too, television ushered in the "comic revolution" when Doordarshan came up with memorable comedies like Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi, Nukkad, Wagle Ki Duniya, Malgudi Days, Tenaliraman, Kakkaji Kahen, Idhar-udhar etc. With the coming in of private channels, there was a quantitative as well as qualitative upsurge in comedy shows. Hum Paanch, Office Office, Shriman Shrimati, Dekh Bhai Dekh and many others kept the eyeballs glued to the small screen even as one was caught up in spasms of mirth. As a matter of course, stand-up comedy followed.

Although there were straws in the wind when Jaspal Bhatti’s Ulta Pulta lit up the idiot box, courtesy Doordarshan, it was Shekhar Suman who became the first star stand-up comedian having considerable national following with his Movers & Shakers as well as Poll Khol. The manner in which he lampooned politicians and other rich and famous persons in various walks of life became a template for those who took up the profession later.

It is pertinent to point out that while there have been celebrity part-time stand-up comedians around – Boman Irani, Cyrus Broacha and Sajid Khan, to name the most obvious ones – one must give credit to Star One’s The Great Indian Laughter Challenge series for providing a platform to the nation’s full-time stand-up comedians; many of them, like Raju Srivastav, Sunil Pal, Rajiv Nigam, Srikant Maski etc, became household names.

But, a remarkable feature of this particular series is the large presence of Punjabis. Bhagwant Mann led the "Charge of the Punjab Brigade" when he came up with some thought-provoking messages through his comic content. Bhagwant expresses satisfaction at the success of Punjabis on the national-level comedy scene, but is quick to point out that although double entendre may appeal to the baser instincts of viewers, it is always the more elevated form of comedy that endures. The greatest comedies may have sex as an ingredient but dirty jokes are absent. Bhagwant’s ‘humour with a message’ policy has helped his comedy show Jugnu Hazir Hai complete 350 episodes on MH1. Currently, he is busy with a satirical series on the CWG for a news channel while waiting for the release of Babbu Mann’s Punjabi movie Ekam.

Gurpreet Ghuggi, a quintessential stand-up comic, instead of merely targeting politicians and the rich, drew his characters from among ordinary folks. His TV shows, Ghuggi Express and Ghuggi Online, thrived on caricaturing the mundane. At present, in Canada, Ghuggi has acted in several Hindi and Punjabi movies. Another comedian, Sudesh Lehri gained popularity through Alpha Gaddi – a comic countdown show. Today, he is in great demand on various mainstream channels. He dishes out pure fun laced with some good singing and acting.

Kapil Sharma, arguably the busiest TV comic star, who anchors as well as participates in a number of comedy shows, points out that a social message is the single-most important ingredient in the comic content catering to intelligent audiences. "Anybody can indulge in buffoonery but to come up with a thought-provoking rib-tickler really requires tonnes of grey cells," he avers. Chandan Prabhakar, Srikant Maski and Rajiv Thakur agree with him. Indeed, it is the punchline that matters; its value increases several-fold if it is an ideal mix of wit and vision.

Talking of earnings, almost all of these stars agreed that presently comedy is a paying proposition. Rajiv Thakur, whose credentials as writer-director of several plays only reinforce his image as actor of great potential (as proved by his "double role" in SAB TV’s Sajan Re Jhooth Mat Bolo), points out that during the days of Doordarshan monopoly, a comic actor could earn national fame by appearing in a single soap’s few episodes, but would earn a pittance. In fact, if (s)he acquired a Maruti 800, (s)he was considered as having "arrived". Now, things have come to such a pass that even an ordinary comedian can make a decent living, thanks to the proliferation of channels and acquiring a Honda City is no big deal for him. On the flip side, even the most accomplished comedian finds it difficult to earn enduring fame thanks to scores of channels competing for an increasingly more demanding audience’s fickle attention.

Srikant Maski, who has created history of sorts by being the only South Indian comedian among today’s top Hindi stand-up comics, points out that he left a lucrative career in a BPO to go in for a full-time profession as stand-up comedian. He admits that he "stumbled" into the profession as he had entered the Great Indian Laughter Challenge’s audition because it was being held in the proximity of where he lived. Hailing from Udupi in Karnataka, Srikant is easily among the most entertaining artistes in showbiz. He has already acted in a Hindi movie and is considering other offers.

Rajiv Thakur and Chandan Prabhakar echo Maski’s sentiments. "Our success as stand-up comedians is beyond our wildest dreams. We never thought that what we used to do for fun at school and college would earn us not just our bread and butter, but cake and jam too!"

What has the future in store for the profession? "It is bright because the scope for its development is vast," says Kapil Sharma, who has acted in the movie, It Is My Life, apart from doing cameos in Sony’s popular show Comedy Ka Daily Soap. But there is a caveat, "The content should not deteriorate and artistes must remain true to their professional ethics".

Interestingly, they all assert that they are basically actors, who happen to specialise in comedy. They say that they can do justice to serious roles too, no matter how complex and nuanced these may be. Obviously, their exposure to fame and money has given them enough confidence to look for greater challenges in acting.

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