NB4 Articles Corner-No Comments - Page 7

There may be a deluge of laughter champions on television these days, but when it comes to Jaspal Bhatti, he, as everyone knows, is the

Jaspal Bhatti. (TOI Photo)

pioneer.

Bhatti only believes in good, clean and intelligent humour. There aren't too many comedy shows that could match the standards set by Bhatti with his hilarious TV series Flop Show and Ulta Pulta.

But Bhatti is batting on a different pitch these days. He's been seen shaking a leg along with his wife Savita in a celebrity-based dance show Nach Baliye4. Bhatti in an interview with LT talks about his new venture, life and future projects.

The first thing that comes to one's mind is that why on earth did the comedy king choose to take part in a dance competition? "To be very frank, I am not at all interested in dance. Maine toh apni shadi par bhi dance nahi kiya tha. Haan jis ghodi par baitha tha woh zarur nachne lagi thi," he retorts, adding, "But my wife has an interest in dance. More than that, my daughter encouraged us to participate in the competition when we got the offer."

"Initially, I was quite apprehensive, but then I took it up as a challenge and thought it would be a new thing to learn," says Bhatti who (along with his wife), surprisingly, topped in the first round of the show. "It was rather shocking when we were declared the top jodi of that particular show. But I thought there was good co-ordination between us and that's why people liked it," he says.

So, who's a better dancer, Mr Bhatti or Mrs Bhatti? "On the dance floor, it's obviously her. Otherwise she's making me dance to her tunes all the time in real life. But with this show, I've got the chance to make her dance," he jokes. He adds, "Jokes apart, my wife has been very supportive since the time we got married 23 years back. She helps in my administrative work, in creating humour, etc."

Bhatti was recently seen on the judge's seat as he was roped in to judge a comedy show Comedy ka king kaun. Not quite happy sitting about it, Bhatti says, "It was a tough job for me because I can't laugh on each and every joke that contestants crack. I feel judges on other comedy shows are used as laughter tracks more than as judges." Navjot S Sidhu, are you listening?

Any plans of making a serial on the lines of Flop Show or Ulta Pulta in the near future? "Yes, surely," he shoots, adding, "But that will be after the two films that I am making. One is in Punjabi and the other in Hindi. Since real work hasn't started yet, I cannot reveal more details."

Not many people know that Bhatti also runs an acting school in Mohali near Chandigarh. "Our school gives complete knowledge of arts. That's why we have courses that deal with acting, editing, direction, animation, etc. It's been more than a year since we started it and the response is quite good as there is no such school in the area," he informs.

And who better than Bhatti to comment on the volatile Sensex. He says, "Sensex is like a wife's mood, subah uth kar hi pata chalta hai." What a thought, Sir!