Bharat Kukreti, content head of Nautanki-The Comedy Theatre on Colors, is the one behind every ‘laugh on the joke’ of the show’s storyline. He handles every single detailing of the execution before telecasting and is the one who is struggling hard to bring the theatre like concept on television and give a new dimension to standup comedy. Called over to the sets of Nautanki-The Comedy Theatre, Tellychakkar.com sat across Bharat for an interview for its Behind The Lens segment. Excerpts: Tell us something about yourself ? Well, I come from Dehradun, where I studied in the prestigious St. Joseph's Academy. After completing my post-graduation in commerce, I entered the field of adventure tourism and was there for about 8 years, conducting treks, wildlife excursions, and river rafting expeditions etc. for youngsters. Then I started writing about my frequent forays into the Himalayas in the local newspapers and graduated in journalism as well. Later, worked for various newspapers including The Indian Express, Chandigarh and Tehelka - The People's Newspaper, among others. Finally, I ventured into television in the year 2005 when I scripted a very popular courtroom thriller– Jo Kahunga, Sach Kahunga for for DD1. How has your journey been so far? (smiles) God has been kind to me and I've had the privilege to work with some of the best producers, directors, actors and writers in the field of television. Although my first non-fiction show was Jodi Kamaal Ki for Star Plus, it was my association with Comedy Circus as content head for about four and a half years that really helped me etch a mark for myself in this highly competitive industry. It was sheer pleasure to create some of the best known comic characters on Indian television and see many television actors turn into great comedians during that journey. Besides Comedy Circus, I have been content head/Content director on other shows including Kaho Na Yaar Hai (Star Plus), Comedy Ka Daily Soap (Sony), Laughter ke Phatke (Star One), Comedy ka Maha Muqabla (Star Plus) among others. Apart from this, I've done comic gags and written anchor scripts for almost all the television and film awards including Stardust Awards, Filmfare Awards, Apsara Awards, Mirchi Music Awards, and Zee Rishtey Awards and so on. Currently, the two shows that I am associated with are Waah Waah Kya Baat Hai for SAB TV and Nautanki - The Comedy Theatre on Colors. What made you bring a theatre like comedy show on television? It was a new direction in which the channel heads wanted our team to work. As we all know, standup comedy has been popular on television for the last few years. Their aim was to serve a different flavor for the audiences. Most of the Indian television audiences are still quite ignorant about theatre techniques and practices, and the basic idea of the show was to make them see real time theatre on television for the first time. How is Nautanki different from Comedy Circus? Comedy Circus is basically a format where we see actors/standup comedians perform in pairs over a season. All the gags performed in an episode might adhere to a theme, but are unrelated to each other in terms of characters and storyline. On the other hand, Nautanki is derived from pure theatre format where a variable set of characters enact one single storyline over an episode, strung through a series of comic situations and gags. In Nautanki, the performances are non-competitive and an actor can have multiple entries depending on the length of the character. What is the most important aspect of any comedy show to be successful? Like any other show, content is of prime importance. However, another layer that is essential is the creation of lovable and popular characters, who then become the drivers of the show in terms of pulling in the audiences. Does TRPs make a difference to you? It is heartening enough when people appreciate your work, but it is indeed very gratifying when you see your efforts contributing towards generation of high TRPs. There's always a speculation about how a sampling of few thousand viewers can be considered as an authentic parameter for judging a show's popularity, but as of now that is the best available system and it should be given due respect. People can talk bad about your show and you can still have high TRPs and vice-versa but I'm sure the best possible situation for anyone associated with a show is when a show is appreciated by the people, and also generates high TRPs. On television, comedy has been below the line so far. What is your take on it? Comedy is a very, very wide term. I guess what you are referring to is standup comedy. Yes, there have been numerous instances where writers and performers have crossed the line but on many occasions, the punches have to be taken in the right spirit. Sexual innuendos should be practiced with great caution and responsibility but a film that has bombed or an actor who keeps getting films in spite of being trashed by the audiences is obviously a good subject for a comedy act. And at the end, it is entirely up to the viewers of the kind of comedy they want to watch. What is the difference in comedy shows here and internationally? Quality, that one word describes the difference between national and international shows. However, that takes nothing away from those creating comedy shows in India as here; the generation of content is on a breakneck speed. Unlike international shows, where writers and creative heads take breaks between seasons to create content, we work non-stop during the entire life of a show. Nowhere in the world have scripted comedy shows been on air for a consecutive of a few hundred episodes. What kind of international format can work here in India? Many international formats have already been tried on Indian television. However, none of them has really been greatly successful. One major reason is that Indian comedy revolves around relatable personalities and newsmakers, whereas international comedies are mostly about funny situations and smart one-liners. Instead of gags, what is the future of standup comedy on television? I wish I knew it, so that I could create and write a show in the same direction. As of now, gags are here to stay for the simple reason that they provide instant comic relief to the audiences within a very short span of time. You need not watch a complete episode or an awards show to enjoy a powerful dose of comedy. What advice would you like to give to new aspiring youngsters? Considering the amount of comedy being generated, Indian television has a dearth of good comedy writers. There are very few who can generate good scripts consistently and on varied subjects. I must have interacted with over a hundred writers during the last few years but there's only a handful on which one can rely with conviction. What are your future plans? Although everyone likes to plan for the future, television is all about the present. The natural progression is obviously films and I have been working in that direction in the limited time that I get during my TV shows. I'm ready with two scripts, but haven't really got into talks with producers/directors on a serious note. I guess the time will come when I have to.