Gurucharan Singh seeks more respect for comic actors

He tickles the funny bone of viewers on television day in and day out, but actor Gurucharan Singh feels that comedy is no easy task and artists deserve more respect for it. “The audience is getting better content and nobody can fool them,” Gurucharan says, adding, however, that it translates into viewers and fans expecting actors to be funny even when not in character.

“We can be serious, too, and moody. Comedy is very tough, [but] people assume doing it is all fun. It is all about timing and keeping yourself motivated, irrespective of what you are going through. Comedians need to be respected more, as making people laugh requires extra effort,” the actor adds.

And in order to be able to do it naturally, Gurucharan, over his career, has learnt to get more than just one thing right at a time. “You need to focus on the scene, the timing element and your body language. So, there should be a balance. Comedy is a serious thing till you don’t learn to do it effortlessly,” he explains, adding that he has his concerns with how reality shows try to get laughs on television. “Reality shows sometimes go overboard. The TRP game is such that sometimes reality shows become gimmicky. Comedy should be clean,” he says.

And as a fan, Gurucharan has his own favourites: “Amol Palekar in Gol Maal (1979), Dharmendra paaji in Sholay (1976), and Govinda in Haseena Maan Jayegi (1999) are among my favourites. I loved Govinda and Salman’s jodi in Partner (2007). I love Kareena and Deepika, too, when they perform comic scenes,” the actor shares.

Actor Gurucharan Singh says that reality shows sometimes go overboard in the bid to get laughs