Did you always have a funny bone or did it develop as you grew up?

I used to act on stage since I was very young. I never focused on comedy. It just happened. With the kind of roles I got in Bollywood, I am getting established as a comic actor with a comic personality.

Who is the funniest among you three brothers — Siddharth, Aditya and you?

Siddharth (Vidya Balan’s husband) is very funny. He has got a wacky group of friends who do little caricatures of people just for their own pleasure. Aditya is very funny in his own way. In fact we all have that freak in us, in my case it has been highlighted more because I kind of formed a career in it.

For comic inspirations, who do you watch?

We have a history of comics, from Johnny Walker to Johnny Lever… I love their humour. Then for the longest time I have been watching Woody Allen movies. He is my favourite. Then there are people like Ricky Gervais, who has done shows like The Office and Extras. Louis CK is very funny. He does Louie, a very sad yet funny show. I like those who also make you think a little while making you laugh.

Comedy today is also about dealing with serious social issues...

While people are laughing, if you can make them think about a serious issue, that’s good. The humour helps in digesting the serious stuff.

A real-life situation when you would actually dive into a pool in a suit like you did in Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani?

When I am asked to do stand-up comedy, I usually run for cover because it’s not something that comes naturally to me. I might jump into a pool when somebody asks me to do some stand-up.

Post-Delhi Belly, your equation with orange juice?

Oh no! I am off it. I stick to cranberry and carrot.

What is it like to have a bhabhi like Vidya Balan?

She is a lovely person, an inspiration to me and Aditya because of the way she has carved a niche for herself in the industry. She is quite fun, like a normal down-to-earth girl, she has her own quirks.

Who cracks most of the jokes in a family get-together?

My father [K. Roy Kapur] cracks most jokes at home. But I have to say that not all of them work. Some are met with a lot of silence also.

Does being funny help attract girls?

I think girls find humour very attractive because they are generally smarter. So they look beyond the exterior, unlike men, most of the time.

Do you think Bengalis have a sense of humour?

I think Bengalis are very capable of laughing at themselves. But if you touch on some of their sensitive subjects or end up insulting Sourav Ganguly, then you would find yourself in a soup. Also, Bengalis are very well-read and socially aware. So for comics who like to talk about social issues, it works well in Calcutta. However, most of the time Bengalis are too busy eating to concern themselves with humour. For them, it’s like ‘you wanna laugh or you wanna eat’ and there’s no contest for them. They will definitely eat something.

Do you also love to eat?

I am a big-time foodie. When I came to Calcutta for the first time for a cousin’s wedding, I literally put on about eight to 10 kilos in about 10 days. It was complete insanity.

Your fave contemporary Indian comics?

Anuvab Pal is a complete loony, I enjoy watching him a lot. Rajneesh Kapoor is very funny as well. Then some of the AIB [All India Bakchod] guys are very funny.

Traditionalists complain humour is often laced with obscenity today. What do you have to say?

I stand for freedom of speech and also the choice of people to listen to or not listen to someone or something. I don’t think you can shut someone up. As soon as you do that, you are opening a Pandora’s box, where next you will be told what to write and not to write, what to eat and not to eat, and so on.

What is Kunaal the actor doing?

I am acting in Azhar, a Balaji film on Mohammad Azharuddin’s life. I have got two more films, one a thriller and the other a family comedy.

What kind of roles are you looking for?

I would love to be a villain. I end up being the nice guy too often. I would rather be a horrible person. That’s a new side of my personality that people haven’t been exposed to —  the nasty Kunaal.

Who are your fave villains?

Amrish Puri is the father of all villains. He would do it just right. These days however films really don’t have villains as such. Villain is dead in today’s Bolly movies. We don’t have that really bad man anymore.

Sibendu Das

 

COMEDY DEBATE

What: Centre Stage Creations presents The Great Indian Comedy Debate, in association with t2

Where: GD Birla Sabhagar

When: September 13, 5.30pm

What to expect: A laughathon with a face-off between two teams, moderated by Kunaal Roy Kapur. Six comedians — Anuvab Pal, Radhika Vaz, Adhiraj Singh, Anu Menon, Rajneesh Kapoor and Rohan Desai — will “blame every individual with an Aadhar card” and put forward hard-hitting arguments that you can’t ignore. Your role? Pick your side of the argument as the house debates if ‘it is better to be reincarnated as a man or a woman’.

Organiser speak: “This show is unique as it combines humour with thought-provoking ideas. There have been many serious debates in Calcutta and I am excited to bring this modern comedic debate to the city,” said Urvi Nopany of Centre Stage Creations.

Tickets: Priced at Rs 750, Rs 1,000, Rs 1,500 and Rs 2,000; available on www.bookmyshow.com and at GD Birla Sabhagar