Seriously, no more comedy: Shekhar

Two much

Confirming this, Suman said, "Yes I won't be doing the show any more. My contract actually expired in January, but I still extended it by a month at the channel's request. My other concern was the fact that doing two shows with similar titles and genres was something I wasn't too excited about."

Besides the comedy show, Suman is a judge on the Great Indian Laughter Challenge, with Navjot Singh Sidhu.

"I spoke to Samir Nair (of Star) and we discussed various options, one of which was to either move the comedy show to Star Plus, or come up with an alternative title. Also, Laughter Challenge takes up lot of my time, so I didn't want to continue doing something just for the sake of it."

Break time

When asked if he would return to slapstick shows later, Suman said, "I think it's a good time to take a break. I don't know what will happen in the future, but I definitely want to say goodbye to stand-up comedy for the time being. Though I have to admit that it's been my forte for a long time, and I absolutely love doing it."

Shekhar says doing both shows simultaneously was quite challenging. "In Laughter Challenge, I have to be a judge, while in Comedy, I have to be a performer. I am glad the audience in the country has welcomed stand-up with open arms. It's been a slow, yet meaningful transformation. One has to understand that it's one of the most difficult things to do."

Back where he began

When Suman says he wants to start from scratch, he means it. "I want to prove myself as a serious actor. Everyone knows I can do stand-up, crack jokes and entertain, but now I want to move towards something totally opposite. Which is why I am looking at theatre, films and avenues that will take me back to my roots."

One thing he's clear about is that daily soaps are definitely not on. "I don't want to do a daily, unless the role is really different from what we are seeing now."

In the future, Suman has an interesting project planned with Star. "I have spoken to Samir about it, and we've had our meetings. It's a very dark show, something the audience will never expect me to attempt. And that's the very reason why I am doing it."