Exclusive: Initially, I was depressed because of the lockdown but now I see the brighter side, says comedian Samir Choughule

Popular comedian Samir Choughule, who rose to fame with reality comedy show Maharashtrachi Hasya Jatra, is grabbing eyeballs with his amazing comedy timing and skits. The actor/comedian recently spoke to Etimes TV and told us about the secret behind his comic timing, how he is spending quarantine and why there is a need of good comedy today. Interview by Vaishnavi Gavankar

Talking about how he is spending his quarantine period, Samir Choughule said, "I am working on my skits now. Initially, I was depressed because of the lockdown but later I felt it’s enough now. There is no solution to it because we have to face the crisis positively. We don’t have to think about the same thing again and again and ruin our mental stability. So, now I have started reading the good stuff. I also got to know how much my wife works at home so, I and my son, we both help her in household chores. I love to cook so I try unique recipes so that I can invest more time in it. (PC -Instagram)

Mental stress is a part of everyone's life today and being a comedian Samir faced it too. When asked about how he deals with it, he said, "Of course, It happens so many times because after doing a lot of comedy skits, at one point, you get the fumbling block. I have so much pressure because every time I have to perform better than the previous one. I always want to fulfill the audience’s expectations. I feel sometimes that everything is over now and I can’t do more than this. Because it’s a part of creativity you have to create the jokes and work on the punches. My wife calms me down at that time. I try to give my 200% in every performance, so I do think about the skits all time and that irritates me sometimes. I think failure and negativity should come in your life once otherwise you won’t get enjoy success. The downtime should be there in your life. Sometimes, some skits don’t work like the way I want to, so I feel bad and regret it but I work on it again. (PC -Instagram)

Maharashrachi Hasyajatra is helping everyone in the lockdown. Anshuman Vichare, Paddy Kamble, Suhas Paranjape, Shyam Rajput and Prabhakar More, Sai Tamhankar, Prasad Oak, director Sachin Mote, and Sachin Goswami are our support. We work as a family. (PC -Instagram)

The thing is that Vishakha and I have worked together a lot even before Maharashtrachi Hasya Jatra. We both are different from each other. The comedy never takes place on the plain surface, there should be some minus points otherwise it won’t happen. Charlie Chaplin is a great example for us. We both complement each other and have a habit of adding on the sentences so she knows everything. While doing our special skit ‘Jauya Gappanchya Gaava’, she complements me so well and understands me. She reacts perfectly to my lines and that is how my punches are on point. She is the best partner. (PC -Instagram)

Comedy is important today, not just because of the lockdown but even in your daily routine. You need to be happy. I also received appreciation from the socialist Vikas Aamte, he spent his entire life helping poor people and I am bringing a smile on his face, so I don’t want more than this. I feel now I have achieved everything. There should be naughtiness in your life. When you think you have achieved everything then everything will be finished. There should be tension and worries. Under pressure work always give you the best result. (PC -Instagram)

We keep in mind always that no one should get hurt by our comedy, so we write the skits accordingly. I write skits based on incidents in my real life. (PC -Instagram)

We include our personal things also. Recently, Prasad Khandekar was not feeling well due to kidney stones, so we wrote a skit on it saying he has hidden precious diamonds in his stomach. We didn’t even spare our host Prajakta Mali, on her birthday, she distributed farsan to us, so we took that point also in our skit. I am happy that everyone takes everything sportingly. (PC -Instagram)

I love doing comedy. When people meet me and tell me that I bring a smile on their faces it is the best part of my work. I don’t want anything more than that. Charlie Chaplin and P.L. Deshpande are my inspiration. They both have cracked jokes on themselves and I am following that only. There is nothing shameful about it. If I am bringing a smile during the lockdown on everyone’s face then I feel I have achieved everything. (PC - Instagram) Interview by Vaishnavi Gavankar