In 2005, the Indian audience realised two things — stand-up comedy made for an entertaining television offering, and that some of the most hilarious stories could come from a barber. As The Great Indian Laughter Challenge opened its maiden season, Kanpur-born Raju Srivastava took to the stage to tell us tales as Gajodhar bhaiyya, a fictional character said to be inspired by a barber from his hometown. By the time the season ended, Srivastava’s dream run had begun. Over the past 17 years, he became one of the biggest names in stand-up comedy.

For Ahsaan Qureshi, the artiste — who breathed his last on Wednesday morning after battling for his life in AIIMS, Delhi, over the past 41 days — will always be the man who knew how to “turn a frown into a smile.”

Qureshi, who was declared the first runner-up to Srivastava’s second runner-up on The Great Indian Laughter Challenge, remembers their first meeting. “About 12 of us were in the semi-finals. I remember Raju called me over for tea, after he learnt that I came from a small town in Madhya Pradesh. When I went over, his house was filled with people. Since Raju’s father was a great poet, his family loved me and my poetic style of comedy.”

Qureshi notes that Srivastava’s style of comedy was unique. “He had a knack for breathing life into inanimate objects. What does the sofa feel? Mujhe bhi saans lena hai, thoda khade ho jaao. This was something only Raju Srivastava ji could do. He started his struggle when one could not afford to even get a landline at home. He used to collect coins to make calls from the telephone booth. Then came a phase when he would mimic Amitabh Bachchan [which increased his popularity],” Qureshi recounts.

The duo had met two months ago for an event. “At the time, we discussed making a film by bringing together several comedians, as we did with Bombay To Goa [2007]. We decided to flesh out the story at the next meeting, but that never happened.” Qureshi adds that he will fulfill the late comedian’s dream by making the film.

Comedienne Sugandha Mishra, known for imitating the late Lata Mangeshkar in her musical comedies, remembers meeting Srivastava after she finished the fourth season of The Great Indian Laughter Challenge. “I was hesitant about approaching him. However, he saw me at a press conference and approached me. He appreciated the musical comedy elements in my acts.”

It was during a two-month US tour in 2016 that the duo grew close. “No matter what the situation, he was always gung-ho about his performance. I remember right before our performance, the hotel we were staying at ran out of water. While we were running helter-skelter figuring out what to do, we saw Raju ji taking a dip in the pool. He said he [didn’t need water] as he had already taken a bath in the pool. He always knew how to turn the tide in his favour.”

Her favourite character, she says, is Gajodhar bhaiyya. “Gajodhar was a personality so far removed from Raju ji. It was one of his best characters,” she adds.

Mourning his demise, co-actor and friend Ravi Kishan feels like he “lost a brother today”. “We both come from small towns in Uttar Pradesh, and had known each other for the last 30 years. We started our struggle together, and became successful together.”

Kishan says that the late comedian always looked out for his peers, and believed in giving back to society. “As a member of the BJP, Raju ji took the initiative to get subsidies for film units when they shot in Uttar Pradesh. A few months ago, we shared the same platform at the Kashi Film Festival. We stayed at the same hotel for a few days and reminisced about our past. I never thought he would leave us so soon.” 

- Born Satya Prakash Srivastava, he shifted from Kanpur to Mumbai in the late ’80s and began his career with blink-and-miss roles in Tezaab (1988), Maine Pyaar Kiya (1989), and Baazigar (1993).

- He appeared in Doordarshan’s Tea Time Manoranjan, following it up with 'Shaktimaan' (1998-2005), where he played the character of Dhurandhar Singh.

- In 2005, Srivastava became a household name with his stand-up comedy act in the maiden season of 'The Great Indian Laughter Challenge'. He emerged as the second runner-up, while Sunil Pal and Ahsaan Qureshi were adjudged the winner and first runner-up respectively.

- He went on to join Indian comics Pal, Qureshi, and Asrani to lead the 2007 comedy, Bombay To Goa.

- By 2009, the stand-up comic was so busy that he considered turning down Bigg Boss. He apparently agreed to participate in the reality show after he learnt that his idol Amitabh Bachchan was the host. 

- Besides showing his comic flair on Comedy Circus between 2007 and 2014, he put on his dancing shoes for Nach Baliye 6.

- He joined forces with Kapil Sharma, playing various comic characters on Comedy Nights with Kapil and The Kapil Sharma Show.

- The comedian joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2014.

- In 2017, he returned to The Great Indian Laughter Challenge as a special guest.

Raju Srivastava flanked by Sunil Pal and Ahsaan Qureshi

Raju Srivastava and Sugandhaa S Misshra (right) Ravi Kishan

A still from Shaktimaan

Riya Sharma (BOMBAY TIMES; December 13, 2018)

Comedian Ali Asgar has made waves with his on-screen persona of the flamboyant Dadi on The Kapil Sharma Show for three years. So, it was no surprise that when he was in Delhi recently, fans kept calling him Dadi while trying to get pictures clicked with him. The actor was in the Capital to promote his upcoming show, Kanpur Wale Khuranas, in which he plays Chauthi, again a female character. In a candid chat, Ali tells us how comfortable he is playing a woman on screen and what it has taught him in real life.

‘OFTEN, PEOPLE ARE NOT ABLE TO TELL THAT IT IS ACTUALLY A GUY PLAYING A WOMAN’
Ali has been playing female roles so convincingly, that it has even landed him in trouble in real life. Sharing an incident that happened while he was performing at a Delhi wedding, the actor says, “Wherever I go for such shows, I don’t let the anchor announce my name, I just enter as Dadi. At this event, by the time I entered, people were already drunk. Unhone uske baad jo hamla kiya hai mere upar — they were putting their hands on my chest, they were pinching my butt, I was molested! There is a girl in my team, and she managed to save me, warna main nikal nahi pa raha tha. Mera tab yeh question tha, ki bhai aapko pata bhi hai ki ye ek aadmi hai jo aurat ka role kar raha hai? And the second question was — even if you don’t know, ye toh ek buddhi aurat hai na, usko toh chhor do!”

However, not all experiences of him being mistaken for a woman have been so scarring. “When we were shooting for The Drama Company, Jacqueline Fernandez had come for one episode. During the shoot, Jacqueline, Sugandha (Mishra), another female artiste and I were dancing, and Jacqueline ka mic nikal gaya. Despite there being two other girls with us, she asked me, ‘Can you please put the mic back for me?’ So I said, ‘I am a guy’, and the whole audience started laughing,” he shares, adding, “Quite often, people are not able to tell that it is actually a guy playing a woman. I don’t know if that is a compliment.”

While for his fans, Ali plays a woman convincingly, the actor says that he wants to try new things also now. “I am comfortable playing a female character, but as a performer, I try to balance ki main yeh bhi karun, lekin kuch aur bhi karun. I recently got an offer from a production house that surprised me. I won’t name the production house, but I was excited that I would get to play a different kind of role. But in the first meeting itself, they told me that they want me to play a ‘dadi’. They said that in the film, I won’t be a man dressed as a woman, instead, I would actually be a ‘dadi’, a female character. So I thought, ‘Boss, yeh toh zyada ho gaya. Kya ab main male role nahi kar paunga?’ I also have two-three films lined up which are different characters, so I convince myself saying that it is ultimately Ali Asgar who is doing these roles,” he says.

‘THIS SHOW IS LIKE A REUNION FOR US’
Talking about his upcoming show, Ali goes into Chauthi-mode and introduces ‘herself ’ as though she has mugged it up like a student before exams. “I am very good in academics because I have failed my class IV almost 30 times. Galti meri nahi hai, galti school waalon ki hai. Main roz school jati hoon, bas exam wale din nahi jaati toh fail kar dete hain,” says Ali, in his Chauthi voice.

He tells us that it is like a reunion on the sets of the show as the cast of The Drama Company, and other comedy shows, has come together — including Sunil Grover, Upasna Singh and Sugandha Mishra — along with new characters. “This show is like a reunion for us. After The Drama Company and other shows, we are all back together. Aisa lag raha hai aaj se school shuru ho gaya hai. Woh excitement hai ki hum ek nayi class mein ja rahe hain.”

‘NO RIVALRY WITH KAPIL SHARMA’S SHOW’
Though Ali accepts that it is not possible for fans to forget Dadi altogether, he is still trying to experiment with new things for Chauthi. “It will be very difficult to erase Dadi from someone’s memory. Wherever I go, people recognise me as her, toh woh obvious hai ki agar female characters banenge toh woh comparison aayega. But this one will be different from other female characters that I have played so far. It is our duty to try new things, and we will add new things gradually on the show.,” shares Ali.

Kapil Sharma also recently announced his return with a new season of his show and since Ali Asgar, Sunil Grover and Upasana Singh — its previous cast members — are no longer a part of it, we ask Ali if he is wary of comparisons between the two shows? “It is healthy, logon ke liye bhi achha hai ki unhe do jagah se entertainment milega. Frankly, I am not even thinking about the comparisons. We all are professionals and there is no rivalry, woh thoda hype ho jata hai. It is fine, certain things did not work out, but there is no bad vibe. Humari koi Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak wali dushmani nahi hai,” says Ali. When we ask him if an off-screen reunion of the original cast of The Kapil Sharma Show will happen anytime soon, he replies, “Off-screen reunion hota toh achha hota, par ab nahi hua toh the show must go on.”

Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 5, 2018)

Mirror had earlier reported (November 22) that actor-comedian Sunil Grover, last seen in Vishal Bhardwaj’s Patakhaa, is making his TV comeback with Kanpur Wale Khuranas. Produced by sisters Preeti and Neeti Simoes, it also features Kapil Sharma’s former team members like Upasna Singh, Sugandha Mishra and Ali Asgar. Now, we have learnt that director-choreographer Farah Khan has also joined the cast.

Farah confirmed the news, saying, “I’ve done a lot of shows with Preeti and Neeti. They were the creative director of Comedy Nights with Kapil and I’ve been on that show many times. They are familiar with my comic timing and repartee and have been asking me to be a part of this show for a long time. We finalised it only recently. I’m playing myself, my holiday home is opposite the Khuranas’ and a lot of celebrities who drop by to visit me end up going to their house. All my favourite comic actors like Sunil, Upasna Singh, Sugandha, Ali and Aparshakti Khurana are there so I’m getting paid to laugh.”

Speaking about her look she’s cut her hair shorts and will be seen in jeans and sneakers. “It’s not a decked-up mother-ofthe bride look and thank God for that! I told them ‘Mujhe housecoat mein bitha do,’” she confides, adding that she doesn’t have to follow a script and can say her own lines.

Farah made her acting debut in Bela Segal’s Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi opposite Boman Irani in 2012. This one marks her debut in a comic fiction show. “In that sense it’s new but I’m not part of the skits,” she says. “I watch them and give my expert comments.”

Farah adds she’s open to appearing on Kapil’s upcoming show as well. He is also returning to TV this month. “I’ve been chatting with Kapil, he’s getting married and wants to come over with the wedding card. He’s really talented and needs to make a comeback,” she signs off.

Neha Maheshwri (BOMBAY TIMES; June 13, 2017)

Sonil Dedhia (MID-DAY; June 12, 2017)

For the promotions of his last film, Sultan (2016), Salman Khan had gone on Kapil Sharma’s comedy show, reportedly after much haan-haan, naa-naa owing to his contract with Colors’ Bigg Boss. And Kapil’s fallout with the channel was fresh in public memory. Now, the television promotions of Sallu-starrer Tubelight sans Kapil have set tongues wagging.

Over the weekend, the Bollywood superstar shot for a two- hour special for Sony, which currently telecasts The Kapil Sharma Show. The episode, slated to be aired on June 18 in the run-up to Eid, features Sunil Grover (Dr Mashoor Gulati and Rinku Bhabhi), Ali Asgar (Naani) and Sugandha Mishra (Teacher). Interestingly, all three had quit The Kapil Sharma Show after the headline act assaulted Sunil on a flight. What’s more, Sunil appeared in his Dr Mashoor Gulati avatar.

Apart from the trio, internet sensation Dr Sanket Bhosale, who is known to mimic Salman, was also part of the 120-minute shenanigans. “It was a special episode for Tubelight and we had a lot of fun shooting for it. Although I can’t reveal much, I can say that Salman bhai was really amazed and surprised by our gags. He was rolling with laughter and he complimented us by saying that our comedy was not offensive,” Sanket said.

Insiders inform that with TRPs of Kapil’s show taking a beating post the mid-air fracas, the channel wanted to check Sunil’s popularity and competence as an individual artiste. “The special episode is an experiment to see if Sunil can hold the audience’s interest on his own without Kapil’s help. They want to be sure of the fact that the dipping TRPs are indeed due to Sunil’s absence. Once that’s confirmed, they hope to sign him as the main act of a new show. Ali, too, will be roped in,” adds the source.

Chaya Unnikrishnan (DNA; June 8, 2017)

Sunil Grover will soon be reprising the character of Dr. Mashoor Gulati for a special entertainment integration programme with Salman Khan’s upcoming film, Tubelight.

It will also star other comics who were a part of The Kapil Sharma Show — Ali Asgar, Sugandha Mishra, and Dr Sanket Bhosale. A source says, “Instead of getting Salman Khan on The Kapil Sharma Show, the channel decided to have this episode.”

The programme will also gauge if Sunil is ready to pull off a show by himself. “If he does, they’ll launch a comedy show with him. Discussions are on for it,” the source says. The episode will be hosted by Aparashakti Khurana, and will have a dance performance by Mouni Roy.

Preeti Simoes, the show’s producer, says, “The show will be set around Mashoor Gulati’s Clinic. It will also have dance performances by the kids of Super Dancer and Sabse Bada Kalakar.” The episode will be shot over the next few days, and air on June 18.

She claims there was no official deal
Letty Mariam Abraham (MID-DAY; July 6, 2016)

Looks like upcoming comedy show, Indian Mazak League (IML), is courting controversy even before it hits the tube. Comedian-singer Sugandha Mishra, who was to be part of team Punjab has quit, leaving the makers in the lurch.

Says a source, “The shooting of the show is to begin on July 10 and Sugandha was part of team Punjab captained by Chandan Prabhakar. But she walked out of the show without notice. She had signed the contract as well. The channel now has to find her replacement at the last minute.”

When contacted, Sugandha insisted that she is yet to sign the contract with the channel. “I haven’t signed a contract with them as yet. We discussed things verbally and I was trying to sort out my dates. They (the makers) wanted 25 days at a stretch for rehearsals plus a day of shoot which I couldn’t commit to due to prior assignments,” she explains.

Sugandha also says that she had blocked dates for The Voice India six months ago; she also features in The Kapil Sharma Show regularly. Therefore, compromising on the two for the sake of another show was not an option. Was there a conflict of interest because she would be part of two rival channels? “The timing for both shows is different, so the channel didn’t have a problem with me doing Kapil’s show. IML was giving me a four-episode guarantee. But with little visibility and so many days of shooting, it didn’t suit me. I told them I wouldn’t be able to do it. But, they are insisting that I do at least one episode.”

Chaya Unnikrishnan (DNA; June 6, 2016)

Thanks to Tanmay Bhat’s video mocking Lata Mangeshkar and Sachin Tendulkar that has created a furore, another video that had Sugandha Mishra impersonating the singing legend a year ago, is back in the news. Sugandha had mimicked the songstress at an awards function, which initially landed her in a controversy, but later Lata herself sent her a message appreciating her and expressed a wish to meet her.

Ask Sugandha what she thinks about Tanmay’s video and she says, “It is in bad taste, there’s nothing funny or humorous in it. It is offending. In fact, the reason I am talking about it is to tell people not to put what he has done and what I did isn’t in the same category. Mimicry is a fine art and a creative expression. What Tanmay has done doesn’t fall in any category. He and the AIB often claim that their humour is of American standard, but they are entertaining the Indian audience, right? Lataji is internationally known and I don’t think even the audience in US will find this funny. Swapping faces and making personal comments is not humour. I have always tried to raise laughter in a creative way.”

She adds that when she mimicked Lata, it was about how music has changed and how the songs should be. “Ninety per cent of the people loved it, and 10 per cent of them felt bad that I mimicked her. They felt Didi ka nahi karna chahiye tha,” recalls Sugandha.

So, does she feel they should stay away from legends or renowned personalities when it comes to mimicry? “Aisa koi rule nahi hai that you can’t mimic this person, aur hona bhi nahi chahiye. That way you are killing the art. But yes, there should be a limit. The challenge of a true artiste is to keep within the limitations and make people laugh. Otherwise even kids can do that,” she states.

Yet, when Sugandha did the impersonation, she had to face the backlash from some singers and composers. “I was shocked. The same people who had laughed at the event, next day gave quotes about how I had insulted Didi. When I read it, I got goosebumps. But the good thing that came out of the controversy was Lataji herself saw the video and appreciated me. In fact, I have heard from several singers that Didi herself is a good mimic and loves comedy. But about Tanmay, she has said that she doesn’t know who he is neither is she interested in knowing him,” she signs off.

BOMBAY TIMES (December 20, 2015)

BOMBAY TIMES (June 26, 2015)