Tickling the funny bone
In the show, Sahil will take on the avatar of Salim Suimiyan, an endearing middle-aged tailor.
Sahil Khattar is the man associated with Being Indian, a wildly popular YouTube channel where the erstwhile RJ has spoken about a mix of fun and politically relevant topics including the ban on momos, gully cricket and the Champions Trophy finals, giving them a fun spin.
“No one likes to laugh at themselves. But Being Indian was a way of doing just that,” says Sahil. Originally an RJ from Chandigarh, Sahil is now in the city and is looking forward to taking the concept of looking inwards to laugh and translating it into a comedy show which makes fun of Mumbai’s music industry. The TV show, Gaano Ka Rafu Centre, will air on MTV Beats today.
In the show, Sahil will take on the avatar of Salim Suimiyan, an endearing middle-aged tailor. Aggravated with his customers, especially after Taimur Ali Khan didn’t like the clothes that the tailor made for him, Suimiyan has decided to open a rafu (darning) centre for songs instead.
“Main Tera Boyfriend has the line ‘rakh lunga tujhko hug karke’. Why, is the lady a tissue paper? Badshah’s song Mercy is ridiculous. Here he is in an aeroplane, surrounded by beautiful women. Why should we feel any pity or mercy for you?” laughs Sahil, adding that similar jokes will be the fare that people can expect to hear on the show.
The YouTuber is exasperated with the way song lyrics have deteriorated over the years. “We have people like Gulzar, who has written words like ‘Aye ajnabi, tu bhi kabhi awaz de kahi se’ and Javed Akhtar whose beautiful poems in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, recited by Farhan Akhtar, tug at the heart. Most of the old Hindi songs are popular because their lyrics touch the heart. Then you have songs like Hookah Bar and Ek Baar Aja, which just make no sense. I mean, why would you say ‘ek baar aja’ five times? There should be some depth and meaning in a song, which is often lacking today. After all, listeners want to listen to the lyrics too,and not just the music. That’s something we’re going to look at in this show,” he says.
Sahil, who has so far maintained a format of speaking to the general masses about issues, is delighted to be playing the character of a tailor for the show. “The makers of the show came up with the idea of creating this character. And I am grateful that they have the faith in me to play the part and act, which is something I had not thought I would do at this point. It’s great to get this opportunity to explore my horizons,” he smiles.
The current scenario for jokesters is a cause for concern for most comedians. Ask Sahil about how to crack jokes in a country that’s forgetting to laugh and he says, “ It’s true that no one can take criticism nowadays. People are quite touchy and any topic can become offensive. One way to counter that is to make yourself endearing to the people. When Kapil Sharma became embroiled in that airplane scandal, people stopped finding him funny, because they stopped liking him. Being likable is an essential part of being a comedian,even if you are criticising society. That’s why my character as Salim too, is a lovable family guy first and foremost,” he signs off.