'Winning hearts of your audience is more important' - Raju Srivastav

Raju Srivastav, television's famous stand up comedian, will be seen in a different persona as he gears up to host a new chat and fun show on NDTV Imagine, Raju Haazir Ho starting October 17th, every Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 9PM..

In conversation with Telly Buzz, Raju talks about his new show and much more...

Can you tell us something about your new show? What is unique about this show compared to the rest?

Usually, in all the other shows I was always there as a performer, but here I will be hosting for the first time. I will be performing here too, but I will also have two celebrity guests. I plan to invite comedians like Paresh Rawal, Sajid Khan, Rajpal Yadav, Sunil Pal and Bhatti Singh. The celebrity guests will present their unique take on life and the theme, which is different every week. The unique thing about this show is that there are no judges and no voting. So there are no hassles or tensions as to who will win and who will not. The best part is that I have the freedom to perform whatever I want to.

 

You have been part of many events. How is hosting a show different from that?

It is very different. I have always been part of various events and have just performed. I was afraid of anchoring and was happy just doing my performance. When hosting, one has to be very conscious of what one is doing. There are also a lot of distractions that can spoil your concentration; so one has to be very alert while hosting.

 

In spite of having done mainstream cinema, it was stand-up comedy that gave you recognition. What do you have to say about this?

It is true. I have been more successful as a stand-up comedian than as an actor. Films in which I was cast as an important character were never successful while movies that had me playing a short role were hits, but not due to my credit. I got recognition mainly through participating in Laughter Challenge, so a huge part of my success is due to television.

 

Do you regret not winning Laughter Challenge?

To a certain extent, yes. My family was disappointed that I did not win the show. But when I performed live with Sunil and witnessed the audience reaction, I was thrilled. I realized that winning or losing isn't what is important. The most important thing is your talent and the ability to capture your audiences' heart. I don't believe in voting after losing the laughter challenge either.

 

You have always been seen mimicking Amitabh Bachchan?

No that's not truepeople do say that I mimick Lalooo ji very well. It's just that I have a lot of similarities with Amitabh ji. We share the same last name, both our fathers are writers and wives are short (laughs), so you see I mimic him often.

Reporter and Author: Ranjini Nair