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'My job is to raise a laugh out of this overwhelming scene of tragedy'

The star of Flop Show is no flop. Jaspal Bhatti is synonymous with comedy on television, with political satire and raging spoofs. His Nonsense Party is always on the rampage as he shares time between Chandigarh and Bombay, trying to impact Bollywood and make more and more people laugh at the way we are going as a nation. Here he is in conversation with Pritish Nandy

Why did you chuck up a perfectly successful career in television to come to Bombay and join the movies?

I was always excited by comedy. You may not know this but I did cartoons for The Tribune for five years. That' show I began my life. Then I went into television: Ulta Pulta, Flop Show, Full Tension and Hi Zindagi, Bye Zindagi, which was not my show actually.... I merely acted in it.

My Nonsense Club did many street plays in Chandigarh. Mostly spoofs on current situations. On both local issues and national politics. Having done all these, I thought I would now try my hand at films. So I acted in several of them recently: Aa Ab Laut Chale, Janam Samjha Karo, Kartoos which is currently in the halls, and Khauf which is coming. I must say it was quite an experience. It was worth coming all the way to Bombay for.

What about your own film? I believe it has done very well in the Punjab where most people think you have spoofed K P S Gill and the Punjab police in a way that no one has ever dared to.

Yes, Mahol Theek Hai has already completed a 100 days. Amritsar has completed 20 weeks. In fact, the whole of Punjab has responded to it very well. It must be the biggest commercial hit out there in the past 20 years. It has done far better than my expectations: that is the most wonderful thing about the film. That is why I felt provoked to try my hand at more films.

You have recently demanded (to much applause) that, to save national resources, we must hold the next two Lok Sabha elections simultaneously. How do you react to the latest controversy over Sonia Gandhi? Should she or should she not be a candidate for the Prime Minister's job?

I have nothing against Soniaji but I believe that the prime minister of India should be, in fact must be India born. No other country of the world allows outsiders to come in and rule them. Why should we? There are matters of defence and security and economic policy that are very important for a nation. You cannot leave these, Pritishji, in the hands of a Rabri Devi, even if she happens to be fair-skinned.

What do you think about the current performance of our cricket team? Isn't it time you did a spoof on that?

Everyone is bewildered by their performance. They have given us all a jhatka.

A jhatka? That's all?

They have given a jhatka to the entire nation by their shameful performance. What else can one say. It is truly terrible, the way they have performed.

If you look at our cricket, our politics, the state of our economy don't you think the time for comedy is over? That it is now time for a full-fledged tragedy show with lots and lots of rona dhona?

Rone ka waqt to hameshahi rehta hai. If you look around you, everything will make you cry. India is in a mess. The world is in a mess. But our job is to raise a laugh out of this overwhelming scene of tragedy. To make people laugh even as they wipe away their tears. This gives them comic relief.

Why have you stopped your shows on television? They fetched you much larger audiences than movies ever can.

I was just taking a short break. We are now talking to a few channels. Let's see....

But isn't the national network a natural choice for you? Your kind of deadpan humour, your witty responses to what is happening around you, makes terrestrial television a natural choice. It reaches the largest number of people all over India. It touches a chord in them. Why are you looking for any other delivery platform?

I am not. But you know Doordarshan. You have done so many shows for them. They are very difficult to handle.

What are your forthcoming films? Films in which you have roles that excite you.

Frankly, there are no such films. There are no roles available here that I would like to do. Someone writes the film. Someone else directs it. Someone acts in it. This is not like my own film, where I wrote the film, I acted in it, I directed it. I wrote the dialogues. There you have control over the total project, you can have your own say. That is why Mahol Theek Hai had such an impact. It was my own film. Like Chaplin had his own films.

I believe the cops in Punjab are baying for your blood?

You can say that again. They were very angry and tried to stop the film. You must see it. It spoofed everything that they stood for. But the people of Punjab loved it, they enjoyed every scene, they identified with it. That is why it was such a raging success. I am now planning to dub it in Hindi and give it a national release. I want more and more people to see it, to identify with it.

Will it get past the censors?

I am sure it will. Even they have a sense of humour even though they do not reveal it all that often.

Did you get to pinch any bottoms in the film?

Watch it first. I do not want to give the story away. I am sure you will laugh your guts out. That is what the film is all about. The difference between how people see things and how the government and the police see things.

For years now I have been trying to convince Hindi film makers to appoint a comedy director in their films so that comedy can get the kind of special treatment that music or fight scenes get under music directors and action directors. But no one listens to me. That is why comedy is getting weaker and weaker in Hindi films. Everything is romance these days. Teenybopper love stories. The complete Hindi film with comedy, tragedy, great music is quietly vanishing.

Who are your favourite comedians?

Well, Johnny Lever is great in the films. On television, I would say Shekhar Suman. But I miss the I S Johar era.

On the world scene?

Charlie Chaplin naturally. His advantage was that he had control over the whole film. So he could make you laugh and make you cry at the same time. His comedies were tinged with pain, with sorrow. That is what made them so special. People loved the way he represented an issue. By first making you laugh over it and then bringing tears to your eyes.

Are you acting in any David Dhawan film?

No. But I like his films. He understands comedy. And, oh yes, I also enjoy Govinda. He has the style of a true comedian. He can make you laugh and laugh and laugh.