“Abhay is a kind of actor that lot of people would aspire to be like” – Cyrus Sahukar

By Devansh Patel -

August 3, 2010 - 11:22 AM IST

You know what's funny? The fact that I compared Cyrus Sahukar's humour to that of Jeremy Clarkson's in the beginning of the interview and almost more than half way into our talk, Sahukar comes up with, "I never knew how to drive a car. But the tangible thing I learnt from Aisha was just that." Found it funny? No? Did you miss the joke? Leave it then. But that's what describes Cyrus Sahukar. He has plenty of reasons to be cheerful. To have one successful career in Bollywood might be considered fortunate, but to have two at the same time is either an anomaly or sheer genius. He is an actor and a comedian. Take that! After talking to Cyrus for nearly fifteen minutes, I found out that comedy is not science. After years of practising the dark arts of making people laugh, the only theory one can come up with is: 'There's just something funny about a guy standing on a street, yelling.' Sahukar's famed sense of humour was so much in evidence after he joined MTV, that you sometimes question whether he is in the wrong profession doing the right things or vice versa. Well, UK's Harrow Observer columnist and Bollywood Hungama's London correspondent Devansh Patel finds out just that and more from the sane mind of Cyrus Sahukar. Insane, isn't it?

“Abhay is a kind of actor that lot of people would aspire to be like” – Cyrus Sahukar

Friendship and casting

Sonam didn't know I was cast until a month

My friendship with Sonam has nothing to do with my casting in Aisha. Yes, it does help because I am working with her again after Delhi 6. I've been around for a while now. Sonam didn't know I was cast until a month. I was cast immediately after the release of Delhi 6. I met the director, Rajshree Ojha and my producer, Rhea Kapoor. They were the ones who decided on my casting. I went, auditioned and got the role. It was a process which everyone follows in our industry.

Delhi 6 and Aisha

I am very happy because I always wanted to be a part of any project, be it radio, television or films. Its pure luck that I am working with Sonam again and I've seen her change physically, emotionally and visually for Aisha. Its working good for both of us I guess.

The beautiful girls of Aisha

Sonam is an incredibly gifted and a gracious actress. She works really hard on other people also (laughs). Sonam is very beautiful. That's pretty evident when you actually meet her in person more than see her on the front covers. But it just wasn't about Sonam Kapoor. All the three girls are beautiful and are different from each other. Ira has grown up around theatre because of her mother and aunt. Amrita, who is just doing her first film is bringing in a lot of freshness and Sonam, well, she comes from a film family. Not to forget, Rhea Kapoor. She is one of the youngest and the most beautiful producers of our country right now.

Rhea Kapoor is one of the youngest and the most beautiful producers of our country right now

The handsome Anil Kapoor

He is handsome, isn't he? I didn't have lengthy interactions with Mr. Kapoor on Aisha. It was always Rhea Kapoor who was involved from the start on this ambitious film. Anil Kapoor was there on certain days of the shooting and that was very good for us because we all know that no one from the cast or the crew has the experience Mr. Kapoor has. I had a lot of questions about my character for which I wasn't finding an answer to. I remember that I was really confused and I did have my answers from him. That opened a lot of my head space because of his vast repertoire in understanding characters since three decades.

Comic timings

Now this is tough. Believe me, to make people laugh is the hardest thing I've ever done. I realised and noticed a few things about me and my friend Cyrus Broacha that we being some mad people who are let loose don't work for us always. We need to be tamed and toned down. If we are left alone, we go on our own different path. We've done about fifty shows together. When we look at each other, we see our eyes watering because of continuous laughter. But the truth and the reality was that we were the only ones who were laughing on our own jokes. The audiences didn't find it funny. Now that's comic timing (laughs).

Television and films:

I really haven't established myself into any particular medium, be it television or radio or stage shows. Television is an unbelievable a huge medium, so is films and radio. And for me, who has come from the television background, thanks to MTV, I've now understood the medium a lot more. I joined MTV when I was eighteen years old. Today, I have learnt a lot more and I am trying to understand the film world slowly but surely. I often ask questions to my colleagues from the film fraternity to which I don't know the answers to and I learn a lot more from them about the medium.

I often ask questions to my colleagues from the film fraternity to which I don't know the answers to and I learn a lot more from them about the medium

Abhay Deol

He is one of my favourite people actually. I don't think I've liked someone so much. I have not missed a single Abhay Deol film. That's the strange truth. He is one of the most interesting people to watch out for in our films. He is doing stuff that I'd love to watch as a viewer. I got a lot of time which I could spend with him and understanding what he is all about. What I like about him is the fact that he has opened himself up as an actor. You can go out for a coffee with Abhay, you can joke around with him and he does his own thing. Abhay is a kind of actor that a lot of people would aspire to be like.

Abhay is a kind of actor that a lot of people would aspire to be like

Comedy and mark of respect to Ravi Baswani

It's sad to know Ravi Baswani is no more. We will miss him. Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron is one of my favourite films of all time. I really liked it. Comedy now, has to evolve. I am a big fan of variety and I like a lot of that. I wish our films had a little more variety. The big explosion happened fifty years ago and I'm sure in five to six years, things will open up. Any kind of variety in comedy will help our films. If I was to be a part of Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron in today's time, I'd pick the role of Ahuja portrayed by Om Puri.