A joker’s tragedy!/ 9 Nov, 2008

If the films that best rock the box-office are laugh riots, you’d think star comedians — from Vinay Pathak to Boman Irani, Arshad Warsi to Paresh
Rawal — laugh all the way to the bank. But beneath the grease paint are worry lines.

“Three years ago, my cousin died in a motorcycle accident. I was devastated. I reached Ranchi and the media barricaded the car for bytes. I put on my dark glasses, and sat in the back seat, crying. That day I wished I wasn’t a comedian,” says Pathak.

Pathak’s just filed for divorce from wife Sonika Sahay in June, and Warsi’s fighting to save his sevenyear marriage to Maria Goretti. Both doting fathers, back-slapping friends, and known family men. And yet, both can’t stop smiling. At premieres, page 3 events, in TV bytes. And that’s ‘can’t’, as in ‘can’t afford to’. What’s it like to put on a mask you can’t take off? Pathak’s Dasvidanya, not even a comedy, is being perceived as one because of his presence. Says Pathak, “Being a public personality is a responsibility. People expect me to be funny. Even when I don’t make an effort, anything I say is construed as funny!”

Comedians have always dealt with immense social pressure to be funny all the time. Johnny Lever once said, “They will probably expect me to crack a joke at my funeral as well!” TV funny man Gaurav Gera is upset. “You don’t expect Emraan Hashmi to walk down the street kissing, do you? You saw Ehsaan Qureshi in Bigg Boss — one can’t be funny all the time!”

The result is comedians, like Gera, consciously move away from the tag. “I gravitated towards comedy because I’m naturally funny, but the pressure gets too much,” he admits. “A few years ago, I had just broken up and I couldn’t keep making myself smile anymore. I’ve worked to bring about the change from funnyman to actor.”

After Munnabhai, Warsi fought a lone battle to be recognised as an actor. “Being funny is taken too lightly,” he explained. “I want to go beyond the funny sidekick.” Friends say his need to constantly strike a balance was emotionally draining.

Clinical psychologist Shrradha Sidhwani explains, “Comedians smile even when collapsing inside. They don’t express negative emotions, and these fester. In this bid to keep laughing, you can lose yourself. But laughter can also be the best medicine.”

Take any of India’s greatest comedians — from Kishore Kumar to Govinda — and you’ll find mood swings, tempers and tantrums. The frustration of never being recognised enough? Lever asks, “Why does Jim Carrey command a diverse audience? His talent is showcased so beautifully by producers... Govinda is an awesome actor, but he can’t command the price of the Khans because he’s stereotyped.”

“You have to stop feeding the image,” says Pathak. Boman Irani plays villain, photographer, theatre artiste to add balance. But he also shrugs, “I want to die laughing!”

It would seem that the comedian’s gift is his laughter. And it is his burden too...