Krushna Abhishek talks to D Kaushik about the changing taste of the audience in comedy shows and experimenting with the genre
As part of Comedy Circus, Krushna Abhishek has donned various avatars. Now finally, the actor has got a chance to be himself as an anchor or Entertainment Ke liye Kuch Bhi Karega. “The reason I decided to take up the show as a host is because the audience has always known me as comedian putting up different acts. I wanted them to know more about me as a person. The show allows me to what I am in real life on screen,” says Krushna and adds that opportunities for comedians on the small screen are limited. “If you will notice, not many comedy shows have sustained the audience attention and the ones those work, like Comedy Circus or Comedy Nights With Kapil, have set such standards that it is tough to sustain the competition. There aren’t enough comedians who have managed to woo the audience in the long run,” adds the actor, who for long has been part of the small screen doing comedy. Even in films like Bol Bachchan and Hook Ya Crook, Krushna has opted for comic roles. “I have been experimenting, but only in comedy as I feel it comes naturally to me and I am best at it. Also, acceptance is a big issue. If the audience has accepted me in this genre, I think I should continue doing work in it and establish myself in the industry. Govinda has been my mentor and one thing that I have learnt from him is that if you are being loved for something continue doing that until you get bored of it. I think I still have a long way to go in comedy. I am still discovering myself by doing different thing in the same genre,” he says.
He credits Govinda for his comic skills. “His timing is perfect. Whatever I am today I owe it to him,” he says. Apart from Govinda, Krushna has been big fan of Kishore Kumar and Mehmood. “In present times, I admire Boman Irani a lot. He gets into the character with so much ease and perfection that when you watch him on screen you instantly believe that it’s not an actor performing a role but some character you are meeting or have met in real life,” he shares.
Over the years, comedy shows on TV have gone for a makeover and Krushna says that the change is important to keep the audience hooked. “We are revamping Comedy Circus so that we can come up with something new. It is challenging to put up an excellent content on TV as the audience taste has evolved in last few years (for comedy shows) and their preferences have changed. Most of them are exposed to some superb content in the form of Western sitcoms and stand-up shows. They want the same from the Indian producers. The quality of our shows has improved immensely. And the good change is that today entertainers are respected like actors. look at Kapil Sharma, his fans are all across the country. Entertainers are being paid as per their calibre and hard work,” he says.
Krushna is now working on a film called It’s Entertainment with Akshay Kumar. “It’s a film for children and has a beautiful story. I would continue doing TV work with films. For time being, most of it will be comedy buy I sure do want to experiment. In future, I would definitely look forward to do some serious roles, but transition will come gradually,” he says.