Kiku Sharda has many calling cards - Palak, Pankhudi, Lachha and the most recent being Kapil Sharma's Nani. The actor, seen playing various characters on Comedy Nights With Kapil, talks about how the real challenge was to essay several female characters. Says Kiku, “Since I'm not a mimic, it was difficult to come up with different voices for the characters. It was tough to visualise Palak's mother, Pankhudi. How can a woman have four long strands of hair sprouting from her chin? However, Kapil convinced me that such characters exist.“

What was his reaction when he was first offered a drag role? “I had seen international artistes attempt it and I have also been doing this for some time now. It will not make a difference to me, until someone points it out; until someone tells my kids that your dad is your mother. Fortunately, that hasn't happened,“ he replies. Though he is content doing comedy, does he ever yearn to play a different role? “I can pull off a serious character, but there is no intention of breaking away from what I am doing currently. I'm getting to laugh the whole day,“ says Kiku. Ask him what he would have been, if not an actor and pat comes the reply, “If I weren't an actor, I would have been a bad actor because this is where I belong. This is my love and my passion. I have done my post graduation in Business Administration. My friends joke about how I've wasted an MBA degree but I insist that I'm applying my education in my current work, too.“ Kiku aspires to make films some day. He asserts, “I would love to make a film, because storytelling happens only in movies. I would explore relationships in my movies. Maybe, the journey of a child from a broken home, or a relationship between a single father and his kids.“

A serious job that comedy is, it can take a toll on the artiste. So, how does Kiku unwind after a long day at work? “Life has changed since my kids. I love visiting gaming parlours and playing with them for hours on end.“

While he appears funny on the screen, he is childlike in real life too. “It depends on the company. I become a child with my two sons and my wife often complains that she can't handle three kids. There are times when I realise that I have to act responsible and behave like a father. I can be a hardcore mastikhor with them,“ he admits.