LIFESTYLE
Can you enlighten us about OMG! Yeh Mera India, on air on History TV18 Channel?
In OMG! Yeh Mera India we showcase the real India once again. Not only this we also show some unique stories which are weird as well as interesting. The people involved with them are all sorts of people who are jara hatke.They are also unique, intelligent as well as innovative and people will say OMG!!! It means Oh! My God India mein aise kamaal ke log bhi rehte hai aur aisi kamaal ki cheezein bhi hoti hai. For instance in Delhi there is a newspaper run by children in which they themselves do the reporting, interviewing, editing etc. At first the newspaper was of one page only but some organization in Delhi came to their rescue and they not only increased the pages but it is also doing very well. There are many such unique stories but I won’t reveal more. Each episode is of half an hour and will have 4 stories . We had a total of 10 episodes and the viewers got to see 40 stories in all, which in itself was a unique thing.
How different was the second season of OMG! Yeh Mera India?
History TV18 had telecast the 1st Season of OMG! Yeh Mera India in January, 2016. At that time people from the channel had gone to varied parts of India to scout & shoot the unique stories of India and I used to host at least 4 stories from the channel’s studio. All the uniquely different stories were very well received by the viewers all over India. Normally a channel suspends a show after the telecast of its 1st Season. Seeing the overwhelming response of the 1st Season, the channel decided to have the 2nd season with a difference. In spite of my over busy schedule I personally traveled to many parts of India to scout for many more such unique stories and interact with the characters of the unique stories on a personal level and had a live telecast too after showcasing their stories. I met them, I interviewed them and also had lots of “masti” with them.
“I salute Kapil Sharma for literally elevating the status of the standup comedians, both on the artistic as well as the monetary level”
Would you like to add anything more on OMG! Yeh Mera India?
Actually when I did the 1st Season of OMG! Yeh Mera India I did not feel so much involved or attached to it. Frankly I had done the show at that particular point of time strictly on a very professional level. But when the hosting of the 2nd Season came my way I myself accompanied the team to different parts all of India and interacted with such amazing people of India and came to know their unique, weird and interesting stories and I was like shocked out of my wits and I felt Oh! My God toh hamara India aisa bhi hai!!! l was enlightened, entertained, discovered and learnt many new things about our India and today I am totally involved and attached to the show on a personal level too.
You and Bharati Singh were hosting the show Comedy Nights Bachao and Mona Singh replaced you as the host and you and Bharti are just contestants.
That was the new season of Comedy Nights Bachao and was known as Comedy Nights Taaza and barring me and Bharati all the contestants were new. No doubt we were appreciated a lot during the show in its 1st Season. But we along with the channel wanted some freshness in the show and hence the 2nd Season was called Comedy Nights Taaza. If everey one felt that I still made a lot of my presence felt then I would say yes because the show was still our baby. With due respect to Mona Singh, I would say is a very good host, but since the 2nd Season had just begun there were times when I felt like covering up for the minor loopholes and lapses all for the betterment of the show. But all this arrangement was only for a brief period and then the channel decided to yank off the show in due course of time.
How is your equation with Kapil Sharma after all the verbal warfare between the two of you on account of your individual shows on different channels Sony & Colors?
I strongly believe in letting bygones be bygones and am of the point of view that there is absolutely no point in digging up the mudslinging grave, all thanks to the media. Anyways I have a great respect for Kapil Sharma and I salute him for literally elevating the status of the standup comedians, both on the artistic as well as the monetary level.
You had a very harrowing struggling phase for the big screen roles before you focused your attention on the small screen and that too with the comedy shows. Right!
Once again I would say that I always let bygones be bygones be they issues concerning my professional as well as personal life. Yes I did have a very tough struggling phase as far as acting in films was concerned. The fault is all mine because I ended up doing some forgettable films. Then came the phase of Bhojpuri films which also did not prove to be earth-shaking although I ended up doing dozens of Bhojpuri films with topmost Bhojpuri heroines like Rani Chatterji and Monalisa. Besides I could not take much stride in the Hindi film scenario too in spite of doing big films like Bol Bachchan and Entertainment. I do have a couple of good Hindi films like Mr Money and Full 2 Jugad to resurrect my position in the Hindi film scenario. Let’s see what future has in store for me.
Why did you give up doing Bhojpuri films, where by now you could have easily hit the bull’s eye if you had tried?
Maybe you are right. But at that juncture, my comic and reality shows came my way and I succeeded in carving a niche for myself through these shows. I gave up on Bhojpuri films as I just could not spare enough time for them. But it has been a decade now and I am happy doing what I am doing as I not only got recognition but also earned a lot of name and fame through my comedy shows. But I think I am going in for a new change of image since I did the 1st Season of OMG! Yeh Mera India. Since then, whenever I am seen on airports or other public places, people just come up to me and thank me for enlightening them about India as they really like and appreciate me in the new avatar of the host of OMG! Yeh Mera India. Nobody talks about my comic shows at such times.
You are now the host of the reality show India Banega Manch along with Mona Singh. How do you feel?
I feel very happy that the channel has now come up with a programme liike this which is completely different from India’s Got Talent, which was judged by Karan Johar, Kiron Kher and Malaika Khan. Mona Singh and I are now hosting the show. It is fun to interact with the various participants who come to participate in the show from various parts of the country.
As a parting shot when I asked Krushna to spare a few words about his better half Kashmira Shah, he just winked and grinned widely, politely opened his Vanity Van’s door for me, signaling “The End” of the long-winding marathon Interview session.
