|
TV
Star of the millennium
Tete A Tete
Shekhar
Suman
"I AM
NOT DIFFICULT"
Shekhar Suman has got a lot of flak from the media
for being arrogant and larger than life. Some of that has
probably been earned; some are the trappings that come along
with being a success. But if you delve a little deeper you
will see a man who has gone through a heartache, pain to achieve
his success. A rather talkative Sagittarian (birthday: 7 December,
1962), he has made his gift of the gab his profession and
one that pays well. Read on to know Shekhar Suman the man,
Shekhar Suman the professional and what else.
What got you into acting?
I come from a premier family in Bihar. My father was the director
general health services in Bihar, my grandfather the advocate
general of Bihar. I think I was a genetic aberration: there
was no background of acting for me, there was no way I would
have been interested but I was. Right from childhood I watched
movies, I was in fact obsessed with them. It probably was
willed in my genes.
Why did you not become a success in films?
I was not careful with the banners or the heroines or set
ups I acted with. I was new and did not know that you have
to look at the commercial viability of not only the film but
also how it would impact your career. I also began as a hero
in a dhoti playing the flute in Utsav with Shashiji, probably
the public did not accept that, though I was most excited
by the break I got and I haven't been able to replicate the
excitement since.
I did about 25-30 films at that time. With the exception of
about three or four which were good ones, I am ashamed of
the rest of them. In fact, I cringe when I watch them.
What made you look at television as a career?
I though I had reached the bottom of my career when the Ramsay
brothers offered me a film. And I decided to put an end to
the nonsense. I sat at home for three years and she (my wife)
took it upon herself to support us. My son Aayush fell ill
at that time.
We had no money. Alka, my wife kept designing. But the times
were bad: she used to be humiliated, some people threw her
dresses on her face, some did not pay. It was a harrowing
time. And Aayush was slowly dying in front of us day by day.
I broke down with all these problems and did not know what
to do. But Alka is a lady with immense strength and she helped
keep the family together. I fell in love with her at 19, got
engaged at 20, was married at 21 and had Aayush at 22.
At this stage a face reader - a tribal leader - came to my
house and sat on my chair with his legs folded. He lit a cigarette.
He looked at my face and said two words - TV superstar, international
star, the biggest face on TV. I had every reason to throw
him out. I did not believe him and was not happy with his
prediction because I wanted to be big in films.
Two months down the line Jaya Bachchan approached me and Dekh
Bhai Dekh happened. I was taken to London as it was telecast
on TV Asia there and I had fans recognising me there. I had
already fulfiled part of the prediction of becoming an international
star. Then came Reporter, Andaz, Amar Prem. In Dekh Bhai Dekh
I discovered my latent talent for ad libbing and the repartee.
I have done everything from sitcoms to serials to soaps.
What now for Shekhar Suman?
Every one keeps asking me that after every success. There's
a lot happening: there's a movie with Kundan Shah starring
Sunil Shetty, Bipasha Basu and me. I have started a company
called Seven Thirty Entertainment which has already got commitments
of 500 hours of programming from channels such as Star and
Sony.
Movers and Shakers is going live. Plus there is a proposal
from someone very big in the world which will take me totally
into a different league - probably along the lines of Oprah
Winfrey. There will be a lot image and money. I will be able
to announce it in the next couple of weeks as I am still mulling
over the morality issue.
Why does every one hate Shekhar Suman?
Where are those people who hate me? At Salt Lake, I had 250,000
people saying they love Shekhar Suman and Movers & Shakers.
When you are popular some people will probably hate you. They
probably hate my success.
There are two types of people who could be hating me: journalists
and struggling actors who would like to pull down 10 other
actors to lift themselves up. Journalists could possibly hate
me because I have been made by own talent and the media has
had little hand in building me up. They probably will have
an even lesser hand in breaking me down.
But don't forget: those who want to hate, hate even a Mahatma
Gandhi, a Shahrukh Khan and an Amitabh. And they waited for
thirty years for his downfall.
Why does he get branded as a Jay Leno copycat?
There is no way I am a Jay Leno copycat. I am a personna.
I have my own satire, the jokes are mine, then how am I Jay
Leno copy? I had not even heard or seen Jay Leno when Movers
and Shakers had been thought up. And when I did see it, I
was annoyed that the sets and properties were quite like those
on Jay Leno. But that does not make a Jay Leno copycat.
Why is he known to be a difficult star?
Who says I am difficult star? I work 12 pm to 8 pm daily.
I give my scenes in or two takes. People take Shekhar Suman
because he finishes off quickly. You can ask my directors
that. I am a perfectionist yes but I finish off Movers & Shakers
in an hour or maximum an hour and a half. I know I can pick
up a nice script and make a nice role of it.
|
The
Badshah of Blah-Blah
