| The Baap of all comedians. A stand-up comic par excellence in the true sense of the word. Cyrus Broacha needs no introduction. His appeal cuts across age, gender, country lines. Cyrus is the right dose that you need after a dog's day at work.
Tune in to tellychakkar for your much-needed portion of the Cyrus brand of wit and humour. Cyrus will soon be seen as a judge of a unique show with the equally affable Sajid Khan.
Excerpts from the interview.
What attracted you to Champion Chaalbaaz No.1?
The money and of course it is great fun to be doing this. After all which other show would I fit in? I expressed a desire to be in Sony's other reality show K for Kishore but they've put me here. I hope to be part of it next year. Besides, since the channel was keen on having Jaaved Jafferi and Shekhar Suman but since they've couldn't afford them they've stuck to Sajid and me. 
Pic by Mitesh Bhuvad | Champion… will unearth the best prankster. With MTV Bakra, you've turned into a legendary prankster thus don't you think you're now passing on the baton?
It's not about passing the baton. It's just about further exploiting an idea. If you look in this country, any successful idea or concept is exploited time and again. The candid camera format has worked extremely well in India. We (MTV) were the first to implement it in 1999 and after it's success this idea was further exploited by 13 different channels and in various languages as well. As a judge on Champion Chaalbaaz No.1, what is it that you seek in a contestant?
Nothing quite as such but the standard of the gag is important. I'm hoping that after Champion… I'll be judging more shows. I did nothing in the first episode as I ended up sleeping as it took too long to start. In the second episode, it was Sajid who kept waking me up. Does it mean we wouldn't get to see that serious look which a judge normally portrays?
Definitely, you wouldn't see us getting that serious. The audience reaction will help us. I will also copy what Sajid writes. I'll peep into his book and award the same marks. On a serious note, judging this show is different than what you see in singing reality shows where you have to be experts. For us it's just about having good fun. There's no formula to judging such a show. At times we might tease the contestant, put them on the spot so as to gauge their personality. We'll also judge them on the response they get from the audience. How is it to work with Sajid Khan?
It's been very easy. I'm always in a hurry and thus show no interest in whatever work I do. Fortunately, Sajid is even worse than me thus it's easy for us to work together. Although, the channel has offered him double the money than what I get. He's physically intimidating thus they (channel) accede to all his requests .When I say something, they simply ask me to shut up. Being an acclaimed prankster yourself, won't you be tempted to play a prank?
We are hoping to but as judges we aren't suppose to play one. However, I'll encourage the contestants to play pranks on some people I know. Playing pranks on Bakra has sometimes led you into trouble. Don't you think that as a judge, you're sitting on a safe seat?
Yes, I feel pretty safe in the studio. I'll be training the contestants on how to handle the troublesome situations. Rule # 1. You should always say sorry immediately should one get offended. You need to assess the body language of the victim. At the same time, I would like to see them get hit. They'll learn from their mistakes. Why is it that we only tend to see male pranksters?
That's true in a male dominated society. Often, men love playing pranks on women but when the tables turn, a man wouldn't always feel uncomfortable in that scenario. However, you'll se a lot of funny women in our shows. We've had a 50-year-old lady who really impressed us. It's about time that this male dominated comedy ends. C'mon girls fight! What's been the worst prank played on you?
Ah..(thinks). One day a girl called me and said that she's pregnant. I was really happy to hear that I've become a father sitting at home. How was your Jhalak experience?
To put it in one word 'disgusting'. As a south Mumbaikar, it's very difficult to travel to Andheri. I basically demanded the money for the distance I used to travel daily. It was very hard on the body and boring too. But more than us, I think the audience got bored of us that is why they eliminated us after four weeks. But your family was particularly happy to see you dance?
That's the problem with such shows. After the day's grind you come home laughing but there will be your family members who'll pat you on the back. When I got 10 marks from Shiamak, my father said, "Son, now you can win the contest." This comment was all the more surprising because my father himself is the worst dancer and yet he expected his son to win. You still were the heart and soul of the show.
Heart and soul me, that's a joke. I though Mika was the true heart and soul of the show. For the first seven episodes, we didn't understand a single word that he uttered. Despite having lost you went home with a LCD TV. Enjoying it?
Well, I've upgraded it. I went to Sony Mony and got a 32inch one in exchange. The difference amounted to just 12,000 rupees. It's been working really well and it's especially good for adult viewing. I've been watching a lot of po*nographic films.
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