He is a good actor, an ace anchor and a master entertainer. Small screen’s superstar, Shekhar Suman completes a decade on television. As he launches his stand-up comedy Simply Shekhar, Screen asks his colleagues and competitors what keeps the irrepressible Shekhar Suman ticking

His first appearance on telly was aeons ago in a serial called Wah Janab where he played a paan-chewing chhote nawab. He was an instant hit, but Shekhar sought greener pastures, the big screen, that is, and disappeared from the small screen for a while. Cut to Dekh Bhai Dekh in the early nineties and Shekhar was a household name. His sense of comedy and perfect timing won him viewer appeal and from then on, Shekhar has been ruling the tube uninterruptedly. When satellite TV happened, Shekhar became one of the most sought after actors. There was a time when he was seen on air seven days a week on different channels in various shows. Andaz, Reporter, Amar Prem, Filmi Khazana are just a few of the many shows he did then. It was amazing how he flitted from one set to another and shot for the various serials.

Arun Frank who has directed Shekhar in a lot of serials beginning with Andaz, says that it is his zest for work that keeps him going. He recalls an incident when he was shooting with him for Dum Dama Dum, a comedy serial in which both Shekhar and Laxmikant Berde had double roles. “It was a 9 to 6 shift which got extended, by 10 pm I was very tired. There was a shot with Shekhar and after the first take, I okayed it though it was not satisfactory. Shekhar who was also physically drained suggested that I re-shoot, but I told him I was knocked out. He insisted and shot till it was perfect. I know him for eight years now and I find that he is as charged up about his work as he was then.”

Shekhar Suman ‘Zee is a challenge’ How did the idea for Simply Shekhar come about? I had been thinking about it for a year. It begins where Movers & Shakers ends. This show will have a flexible format with street gags, celebrity chats etc. It is a satire in the real sense of the word. I call it a seriously funny show because if you scratch the surface you will find it hard-hitting. There will be times when you will feel emotional as it has its touching moments. The concept is entirely mine. I have worked on the promos, the title and the montage shots myself. And I am happy that it has evoked a favourable response. How are you deciding on the celebrities? Only people who have substantial achievement to their credit are invited on the show. All the celebrities on this show are going to be big. I am personally calling them and inviting them on the show. I had done an interview with M N Singh which Balasaheb Thackeray had seen. He called me in the middle of the night and said that I was the best actor in India and that he would like to do something for me. I asked him whether he would come on my show and he immediately agreed. The other guests on my show include Anil Kapoor and Shilpa Shetty and mind you, no one has asked for money to be on the show. Aren’t they apprehensive about the kind of questions you are going to ask or are you informing them in advance? No, I don’t tell them anything. But yes, I assure them a comfort level and tell them that they will be projected in the right way. It is unlike M & S where at times I used to pull a fast one on the guest. Who is scripting the show? I have a team of creative writers like Vinod and Shashank who are working on it. Why didn’t you do it for Sony or STAR Plus? Sony is busy promoting matrimonials. Woh to shaadi karva raahein hai. As for STAR Plus, they will take the credit for its success saying it is because of the channel that viewers have tuned into the programme. It is a bigger challenge doing it for Zee because I am confident my fans will see it. I believe that people have programme loyalty and not channel loyalty. Do you think your show will be a success? I think it is time people shifted from stupid serials depicting sindoor, mangalsutra, karwa chauth and little else. I feel Simply Shekhar gives the viewers an option of going to sleep with a smile on their face. What is the secret of your success? The idea is to keep rediscovering or reinventing myself. Also, I work with honesty, passion and fearlessness which I think has got me so far. And I feel once you conquer one horizon there’s another always waiting for you. Life has been a great high for me. Besides Simply Shekhar anything else up your sleeve? Yeah, I am cutting an album in the near future. I have also shot for the pilot of a serial called XYZ, an action adventure for Zee. By the end of this month, Chor Machaye Shor is releasing in which I am playing seven roles. Then there’s Kundan Shah’s film which is awaiting release. I am also planning to start my second production titled Topiwale... A lot of things are happening. —CU

Any hint of over-exposing himself was shot down with a witty one-liner, “The word over-exposed is getting over-exposed,” Shekhar would counter. Despite so many serials, he was one of the most highly paid actors. The only actors who beat him at his price were filmstars like Prem Chopra, Farha, Bhagyashree who were paid handsomely for their initial appearance on the tube. Though the good-looking actor was busy, he was in danger of becoming just one among the equals when Movers & Shakers (M & S) happened. A desi version of Tonight With Jay Leno, M & S was launched in a big way by Sony. Though anchoring was not new to Shekhar - he had hosted a game show and a countdown show Made In India - Movers & Shakers was in a different league altogether. It was the first stand-up comedy on Indian television. Uday Sinh Wala, COO, In House Productions, the company that launched M & S recalls that they zeroed in on Shekhar because he had done comic roles and anchored shows. “He speaks multiple languages fluently, has great presence and is a good mimic. He’s one guy who can do a stand-up comedy and a hard-hitting interview equally well. He fitted the bill and since the concept was new for both of us, he was game for it. It was a small beginning but we didn’t expect Shekhar to flower so well,” he says appreciative of the actor. Shekhar, of course, excelled in it. The show ended up inviting bouquets and brickbats, while Shekhar’s popularity soared.

The show was telecast four days a week and even then Shekhar continued acting in serials, working round the clock. Anant Mahadevan, who has co-starred with him in several serials and also directed him in Hera Pheri, Main and Memsaab attributes it to his indefatigable energy. He recounts,”We were shooting the pilot of an action adventure called XYZ in which he is playing a cop. He had to wear heavy boots and run. He ran once and collapsed. Just when we were trying to cut the shot, he managed to get up and run again. This is his commitment to the profession.”

As for emerging an ace anchor, Mahadevan attributes it to his tremendous sense of humour. “He began by anchoring frivolous film-based gameshows and grew to hosting serious talk shows. He has put his gift of gab to good use,” he reckons. But that’s not the reason why Mahadevan admires him. “He is a fighter and has survived against all odds including the flops after a dream debut in a film like Utsav opposite Rekha.”

The only time his numero uno position was threatened on television was when Amitabh Bachchan embraced the small screen two years ago and became a phenomenon. With Kaun Banega Crorepati, the entire dynamics of satellite television changed and all the channels hit the panic mode. Each one came up with their version of KBC. Sony launched Jeeto Chappar Phaad Ke with Govinda and promised unlimited prizes and money. As it was a mega show and pitched as the channel-driver, Sony concentrated all its energies on the hero no.1 and Shekhar, sources say, felt neglected. Within a few months of JCPK’s launch, Movers & Shakers was on its way out.

But not Shekhar. SABe TV which also joined the bandwagon of game shows called Shekhar to anchor their Jab Khelo Sab Khelo, a housie show targeted at housewives. Says Markand Adhikari who has worked with Shekhar as a producer and a broadcaster, “He has the gift of gab, is very versatile and talented. The best thing about him is that he appears very lively on the screen.” Jab Khelo Sab Khelo petered out after starting on a high note. But Shekhar has this knack of reinventing himself. Just when you wonder what next, Shekhar comes back with something new. This time it was in the form of Aap Aur Main on SABe TV. A serious chat show Aap Aur Main has Shekhar interviewing prominent personalities from different fields. Some of the people he has chatted with include Gopinath Munde and Javed Akhtar. His interview with police commissioner M N Singh is still talked about.

What made the Adhikaris choose the fun-loving, comic actor to host a serious show like Aap Aur Main. “It was his ability to keep himself abreast with contemparary topics and his thorough homework on the subject,” explains Adhikari. The show has directly put him in the league of Karan Thapar and Vir Sanghvi, says Adhikari. With this, Shekhar who had this frivolous image transcended into a hard-hitting interviewer.

Even as that show was on, Shekhar was offered to anchor Nilaam Ghar Bid Bid Boom on Zee. Though the show didn’t exactly reach the top rung, Shekhar’s easy comaraderie with a 200 plus crowd, his irrepressible gift of gab and the fast tempo of the show emerged a winner. As Farooque Shaikh who has done a lot of work with Shekhar in serials like Ahaa says, “He is the singlemost TV performer who does a lot of things and does it well.”

Nilaam Ghar Bid Bid Boom has wound up. Shekhar says he had a one year contract with Zee for the show. That over, now the desi Jay Leno is back with Simply Shekhar, a stand-up comedy on Zee telecast every Tuesday and Wednesday at 10.30 pm. A co-production between Shekhar’s production company 7.30 Entertainment and In House Productions, Simply Shekhar seems to be in line with his earlier stand-up comedy M & S. Shekhar, however, has us know that Simply Shekhar is a progression on M & S. “It begins where M & S ends. Unlike M & S which was more of a comedy show, SS is a seriously funny show,” he informs. With his first guest Balasaheb Thackeray and the second being Lata Mangeshkar, SS has indeed started big. “And we are going to keep it that way. Our guests will be all the top celebrities and some of the forthcoming ones are Shatrughan Sinha and Vinod Khanna,” says Shekhar. Uday Sinh Wala agrees that the format looks similar to that of M & S but assures us, it has a lot of surprises in store. “Gradually, we will be introducing street gags and skits. We will be going out of the studio to meet people. Besides, we are not committing to do interviews on every episode,” he elaborates. Plans are also afoot to make it a ticketed show, something which Shekhar wanted to do with M & S but couldn’t. “Now that I am producing it I will see to it that it happens,” he asserts.

Confident, fearless, honest and passionate. That’s Shekhar for you.

—Chaya Unnikrishnan