She has made us laugh with her one-liners on Sony’s Comedy Circus. She has proved to everyone that even fat women can dance gracefully. If this was not enough, she was the national champion in shooting and archery when she was in school. But today, Bharti Singh, 27, known as comedy queen lalli, an act that made her famous with The Great Indian laughter Challenge, has come a long way.
“It has been a good journey so far. I was the runner-up in Comedy Circus Ke Ajoobe. Unlike other shows like Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa and Indian Idol, there is no winner or loser in Comedy Circus. Everybody is a winner. It is an evergreen show and everyone is like a family, be it Rajiv Thakur, Kapil Sharma or Krishna-Sudesh. It is like we are playing a game,” Bharti Singh says.
Comedy Circus and laughter Challenge are the two big shows that have been giving aspiring comedians a platform to showcase their talent. “It has given me an identity and a place to show my skills. It is a pleasure to be associated with a show which is a hit for the past six years. I’m also doing Comedy Circus Ke Mahabali and have teamed up with Nikhil Ratnaparkhi and newcommer Rajiv Goldie. It is definitely going to be fun. Every season is a challenge for me as I have to come up with something new,” Singh tells you.
According to Bharti, the show has much more to offer than just laughter. “It’s more than a comedy show. Comedy Circus Ke Ajoobe was all about sending out a social message on various issues like female foeticide and corruption, while making the audience laugh. Hasaate hasaate social message dein toh zyada impact parta hai logon pe. Yeh hasanewala show hai par hum bahut baar ro padey hain. In one of the acts, we were jokers and suddenly the news comes that a joker’s mother had passed away. But the joker keeps entertaining others and makes the audience laugh instead of leaving. In this act, Sohail sir, Archana mam, Krishna and everybody present started crying,” Singh recalls.
Believing in the mantra that life must be lived to the fullest, Bharti has donned many hats. She has been a dancer and an actor. But she finally found her calling being a comedienne. Through her shows, she has endeared herself not only to judges but also to fans. To begin with, Bharti was seen in Punjabi comedy shows. It was her dream come true when she was selected for the Great Indian laughter Challenge Season 4 in 2008. She became an inspiration for other women to show their talent on a public platform and making a full-time career.
“I always wanted to be a comedienne and make others laugh. But there were hardly any comedy actors when I started out. There were no platforms to promote this art form for women. Knowing this reality, I still choose to travel this path. It was not always easy and like any other person I had to struggle a lot. But I had confidence on my abilities and determined to realise my goal. I come from a humble background and have seen financial crises. But my family supported me a lot and taught us to always smile For us, little things matter a lot. Comedy is my life. I live it everyday,” Singh states.
Keeping this lesson that was ingrained in her early in life, Bharti doesn’t want to talk about the reason for withdrawing from Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 5.
“All I have to say is that I love dancing and will continue to do so. Only the stage is different. In JDJ, we were required to dance more gracefully and had to follow a dance style. But in Comedy Circus, I can dance whichever way I want to, creating humour in the act,” Singh says.